Friday, January 13, 2012

Like A Puzzle


I am nearly at the end of a rewrite that has taken over six months. I stopped blogging about it altogether because I knew everyone had to be sick of hearing about my editorial woes. Believe it or not, I have mixed emotions now that the end is in sight. On one hand, I am thrilled to begin the querying. Rejection or manuscript request, it's a fun process, and I haven't been involved in it for a long time. The other side of the coin is missing my characters, losing the feeling of a story I love so well. There's always a grieving process at the end of a book. At least there is for me.

Last night, it occurred to me that writing a story is kind of like making a puzzle. Euphemistically-speaking, you are the puzzle-maker, you have the picture in your head. You lay it out for others to discover, only to realize that there are too many pieces, that your vision is too convoluted. So you reposition things, you remove the unnecessary sections. You polish the colors and throw in a trick or two, just to make things interesting. It's a wonderful job, isn't it?

How is your puzzle coming together?

6 comments:

  1. I love how you describe this! So perfect. I'm working on some edits. I can't wait to be done, but I will probably miss it when it's done.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful analogy of the story making process. I hope your puzzle work pays off :D Best of luck in the query process!

    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  3. And sometimes those puzzle pieces are missing and you have to hunt around for them :)

    Good luck with querying.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm missing a piece or ten and am cutting corners to make them fit, darn it - and they will fit! LOL!

    Awww gorgeous Roxy!! Well done you!!! I am doing a happy dance for you and wish you all the best with this!! Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good luck with the queries. Even though I write short stories I do sometimes miss the characters after I finish them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on reaching the querying stage. That calls for a celebration. Cheers to you! I know what you mean about missing your characters, and writing a novel is definitely like putting a puzzle together. Good analogy. Best of luck to you getting an agent and selling your novel. Thanks for the follow!

    ReplyDelete