Cutover Writing: a blog about writing fiction
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Has the film adaptation of The Four Feathers lost the plot?
How far should a screenwriter go in changing the plot of a novel when creating a film adaptation? Michael Hauge, in Writing screenplays that sell, says that it’s a false assumption that a novel can always make a natural transition to the screen. The two forms have very different rules, he says, and the allegiance…
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Plan to get into the right state of mind for revision
Drafting and revision demand very different states of mind, so different that it’s tempting to want to hand the whole revision process over to someone else.
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Hemingway was right about that first draft
According to Ernest Hemingway, the first draft of anything is shit. Nine weeks and ninety-eight thousand words after starting my own first draft, I’ve managed to prove that he was completely right.
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Getting past the writing marathon’s word wall
Like any other marathon, drafting a novel is a test of stamina, fitness and endurance. It’s a long haul – and, just like it’s running equivalent, you can be going well, feeling good, writing at a steady pace, when all of a sudden you hit the word wall.
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A novel is a project too and it needs a project plan.
Writing fiction relies so much on the power of creativity that it’s tempting to think you need to switch off, or at least suppress, the logical, planning and organising functions of your mind. Just let your imagination run wild, pour the words out onto paper, and the rest will take care of itself. But writing…