Jan 16, 2012

Writing on Monday: Getting the hand of the whole "Showing vs. Telling" thing

A few months ago, I decided I wanted to write something other than the WIP that I'd been trying to write for over a year. So, I left Insomnia hanging and dived into a completely different world.

But I missed my characters too much. I knew just where I wanted to take them (or rather, where they were taking me), but back then I lacked the inspiration. Well, that inspiration's back, stronger than before.

Last year I'd uploaded part of my WIP to inkpop and had a couple of people read it. I also had a couple of betas helping me. They all said the same, that my writing was coming along just fine for a newbie, but that I needed to mature in the sense of  Showing vs. Telling.

A week ago, I picked Insomnia back up, and re-read those very helpful critiques. I googled "Showing vs. Telling" and read a bunch of articles about the subject. And then I opened my .doc file and started writing/editing my WIP. I feel confident that I'll have it finished in a month or two, and I'm happier about it than ever before. Just thinking that I'll have written a book -ME!- fills me with joy. Even if that book is not National Book Award-winning material (oh, wait, I'm not eligible for that, given where I live and all...). Even if the only people who read it are my friends and family, and maybe you? I'll just be happy to have finished it.

Last night I hit the 45k mark on my word count, reaching 157 pages on my WIP. From my calculations, I'm 3/4 of the story in, so that means I still have thousands of words left to write. And I love that! Cause it means it'll be the longest piece I've ever written.

Now I want to show you the first paragraph of the first chapter of the new draft. If I haven't lost you on the way, and you're still reading, thank you! I wanted to show you the old version, but silly me, I edited on it and didn't save the edit as a new .doc. I hope you'll read what's next and let me know what you think. This is how Insomnia begins:
I wasn’t going to make it. My stomach heaved, bile rose up my throat, its bitter taste filling my mouth. One of my hands shot up to cover it, the other hugged my chest. My lungs struggled to catch a breath, the simple effort of trying to breathe hurt my muscles as they strained to let air in. A loud bang reverberated against the walls as the front door shut closed and the sound echoed in my head, louder and louder. Beads of sweat ran down my face, trickling down to the wooden floor. Each splash ricocheted against my eardrums, as my heightened senses took it all in. The minor headache I’d woken up with this morning had turned into a full scale migraine. 
Here are some of the articles on S. vs. T. I read:
And I just read this very illustrating post by Veronica Roth about what goes on behind the publishing biz. 

I'd love to know what you're writing! Leave me a comment and I'll stop by your blog and read whatever you've posted.
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