tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231755852559755918.post3082019313364778384..comments2023-03-27T02:30:12.281-07:00Comments on Sheila Rambles: EndingsSheila O'Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03460547533841797642noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231755852559755918.post-67237963047634110072009-06-02T20:00:34.157-07:002009-06-02T20:00:34.157-07:00Hell, don't let blushing stop you.Hell, don't let blushing stop you.dj steve boyetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13925754770656252623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231755852559755918.post-36178287391045147812009-06-02T19:40:59.097-07:002009-06-02T19:40:59.097-07:00It IS finished, technically. I have a beginning, ...It IS finished, technically. I have a beginning, middle and end written down; I'm now in the process of refining the result to the point that I can show it to people without blushing.Sheila O'Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03460547533841797642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231755852559755918.post-69050400515338617082009-06-02T19:20:43.277-07:002009-06-02T19:20:43.277-07:00I'd bet that your sense of what to cut, add, a...I'd bet that your sense of what to cut, add, alter, move, etc. out of the beginning will be much clearer when viewed across the explored territory of the finished novel itself. :)dj steve boyetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13925754770656252623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231755852559755918.post-46143926502952273992009-06-02T19:12:56.456-07:002009-06-02T19:12:56.456-07:00I suppose my worry is that by prolonging the begin...I suppose my worry is that by prolonging the beginning, I run the risk of taking too long to get to the point where things start happening and losing the interest of the reader.<br /><br />Then again, from what I can calculate, the new beginning adds less than a thousand words, and they're less than a thousand words of scene-setting and character establishment, so perhaps I can be forgiven such indulgence. I'll ask that of the few folks who will be reading the completed version.Sheila O'Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03460547533841797642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4231755852559755918.post-42847079677980362192009-06-02T18:44:14.326-07:002009-06-02T18:44:14.326-07:00I think you might benefit from regarding your open...I think you might benefit from regarding your opening chapters as placeholders, in a way, because your view of the book's opening -- as the entryway into the heart of the novel -- will undoubtedly have changed by the time you reach the end. In fact the end itself will not only color the beginning, it will likely give you ideas for clues and themes to plant early on when you revise. But regarding it as placeholder text can free you up to not be married to the words you've set down. Letting it be rough for a couple of passes can be liberating.dj steve boyetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13925754770656252623noreply@blogger.com