Edit 1

This is proving to be quite discouraging. I’m finding so many faults with it. Yet it highlights some important issues about drafting and editing.

General structure

It’s not quite hanging together yet. I’ve found a couple of spots where I need to add in extra scenes. I don’t feel that we’re getting as close to Clara as we might. It’s partly because her story spans such a long time. That has to stay. It’s partly because it’s a biography and though it focuses mainly on the last twenty-four years of her life some earlier scenes are crucial. That structure has to stay. I must use other means of making it more immediate.

Pernickety writer

As I get more skilled I become more critical also. I’m less and less satisfied with my own work. I abandon rather than complete. I cringe at what was written just a few days ago and what has even passed muster with a publisher. But then I criticize what has been published by even the big houses. Hopefully all of this will carry on helping me as I work on Clara’s Story.

My first “grown-up” story

Is that what’s causing some of the problems? I’m not so used to writing fiction for adults, except perhaps my flash fiction. I’m using quite short scenes here all of the time. Are they too short, perhaps? Or too long? Should I be writing this as a poem or in very short bursts of flash?    

A real challenge then

So, there is a lot to be done. I’m not sure of the way through yet. Naturally it’s a real challenge. I have a feeling that getting this right is going to make my writing so much stronger. Failing to get it right is not an option. So, my writing has to get stronger because of this. I look forward to the results.