Blogs by John DeDakis
A Creative Setback...and Opportunity
5/14/2008 2:58:27 AM
What do you do when you find out your manuscript isn't good enough?
First, you mope.
I'd hiked the Inca Trail to Peru's Machu Picchu -- one of the seven wonders of the world; I'd taken that experience and embedded it into the manuscript of BLUFF, my second mystery/suspense novel in the Lark Chadwick series; I'd gotten a lot of constructive feedback which I'd molded and kneaded into six drafts of the manuscript; then I'd sent it to my agent who has just informed me that it still needs more work.
BUMMER! (Or words to that effect.)
After getting the bad news, I made a brief visit to the dark side, but quickly realized it's not a pretty place to hang out. I've been depressed before and it's no fun. So...I jumped on the treadmill to get some exercise and then got to work with revisions.
To be sure, I have a long way to go, but one thing making the process less daunting is an organizational technique I outlined in a previous blog posting. Early in the writing process I created a document that enables me to get an overview of all the scenes in the novel. So, rather than slogging through the manuscript line by painful line, I can first assess the scope of the novel from a more detached distance. You might call it Brooding from Above.
I'll get bogged down in the minutia soon enough, but for now I'm getting ideas for how to whip this sucker into a shape that my agent will love. That's the challenge. At least, in my disappointment, I have hope.
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More Blogs by John DeDakis
• I'm a Slow Learner - Friday, July 17, 2026
• Actual Story vs. Backstory - Friday, December 6, 2024
• How to Overcome the Power of Procrastination - Friday, June 21, 2024
• What's in a Name? - Friday, March 22, 2024
• Meandering - Saturday, January 20, 2024
• Write Where You've Been - Monday, July 31, 2023
• Stop Being a Scaredy-cat - Friday, June 2, 2023
• 2-Minute Writing Tidbit - Monday, March 30, 2020
• Ode to a Mentor....Or Letter from the Grave - Thursday, September 23, 2010
• You Should Write a Book - Wednesday, April 21, 2010
• Ever Feel Inadequate? - Tuesday, April 20, 2010
• Change is Good - Tuesday, February 23, 2010
• Overcoming the Fear of Rejection - Tuesday, November 3, 2009
• Beating Writer's Block - Tuesday, October 27, 2009
• What a Manuscript Editor Does (and Doesn't) Do - Monday, September 7, 2009
• Confessions of a Cross-gender Writer - Saturday, July 4, 2009
• 5 Ways to Stay Organized While Writing a Novel - Tuesday, May 19, 2009
• Writing for the Ear; Writing for the Eye - Sunday, May 17, 2009
• Plan a Little; Write a Little - Friday, May 1, 2009
• Building a Novel - Friday, April 10, 2009
• Writing a Screenplay - Tuesday, February 17, 2009
• VICTORY! - Wednesday, January 7, 2009
• A Creative Setback...and Opportunity - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
• Heading to the Inca Trail - Saturday, September 15, 2007
• Solving the Time Problem - Thursday, April 5, 2007
• Simmer Mode - Saturday, March 31, 2007
• The Art of Flitting - Friday, February 2, 2007
• Brooding - Monday, January 29, 2007
• Scene Building - Sunday, January 14, 2007
• Getting Stuff Done - Tuesday, January 9, 2007
• Connecting - Sunday, December 3, 2006
• Making Revisions - Friday, December 1, 2006
• In Search of Balance - Sunday, November 12, 2006
• The (sort of) Daily Muse - Thursday, November 9, 2006
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