Who cares?
Just kidding. Almost.
What is underwriting or overwriting? They’re pretty self-explanatory, but just so we’re on the same page, here we’re talking about novels. Underwriters create a draft that has less than what the final demands, and overwriters stuff in all the detail plus its dog and family. We’re going to explore both of them. There might be a winner for the most efficient process. *not
What motivates your story?
When I started Song of Kardu I had mostly just an idea for a situation, one grand series promise: that there would be a war for a planet with greater civilizations fighting in the sky and lesser heroes on the ground. The main group in the sky was going to be led by a ship shaped like Lady Liberty, because it’s just such a fantastically terrifying image under the right lighting. That wasn’t much to go on, so who should be surprised when I found that, upon discovering my characters, I was an underwriter? My story was motivated by a situation, not by people. I had to find the people and paint them out on future drafts.
Contrast that with a story motivated by characters. I would say Stephen King’s The Stand is an overwritten story. Granted, it’s one of the greatest books I’ve ever read, but the unabridged version I experienced was too long for its payout. Someone else could have told the story in much less time.
But wait, no, that person wouldn’t have been the great Stephen King, and that story would be missing the American heartbeat of the characters, the depth of the people that make you love the journey so much. Last year, I finally got around to reading the full unabridged version, and you know? I couldn’t put it down. Each peace of the journey was so well flushed out, each character so interesting, that I felt like I was reading a collection of short stories that ran together and never ended. I could tell that the book was “overwritten” specifically because each character deserved the page count.
Here’s the trailer for the TV series if you don’t know what I’m talking about:
Basically, when you’re writing, you have to ask yourself what exactly is motivating your story? I thought about this when writing Song, and to be honest, I’m not sure I figured it out until running through the third draft. My story was a building-block setup for a greater conflict. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome there, because the Kardu series is meant to be a multi-generational peace spanning many years. I could have lingered with Seth longer during the 300 year gap, for example, but I felt that would be overwriting the story I wanted to tell in this book. I decided I could write that one later. First, I had to think about plot and character arcs.
Ultimately, Song of Kardu is Cash’s Hero’s Journey, Seth’s Descent, and Arty’s Origin. I don’t know if that disappoints anyone, but it was the best narrative decision I could make. The beginning of a series is a difficult write because you have to make series promises and book promises. Yes, more is coming with good ‘ol Ashetarai.
But wait, no spoilers…
I digress
“Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten,” famously stated Michael Crichton.
Okay, that’s cool. Not sure if I completely agree. Here’s a counterquote:
“You must write.
You must finish what you start.
You must refrain from rewriting (except to editorial demand).
You must put it on the market.
You must keep it on the market until sold.“ — Robert Heinlein.
Let’s look at that again. “You must refrain from rewriting”??? Sounds like different famous people say different things because they have different styles. Both of these authors are great, though I might argue that Heinlein was a better storyteller. Ironic, huh?
Just write what you want to read
I’ve said it before on my blog, but I think we tend to overthink advice from many writers with different styles. For me, I try to simplify. For a current example, Song of Kardu is the book I want to read. I’ve read some other things by different authors, liked some of them, didn’t like others, and eventually grew a cultured mass of storytelling in my own brain that wanted to come out and throw up what I, Daniel Bradley, wanted to see in a science fiction book. No one else could have come up with Kardu because it’s a conglomerate soup of things that make me and the synaptic pulse of my thoughts over years of exploring my own interests.
This may seem like a tangent, but I promise that everything you produce as an author can only do well if you spill out your own honest guts onto the page. A book you write that you enjoy reading will find readers because someone else in almost ten billion people is bound to browse with similar taste. If you’re an overwriter, you’ll find people that like overwritten books. If you’re an underwriter, like me, you’ll find people fit for your pacing.
If you try to fit someone else’s mold, you will find yourself licking undertable scraps. I firmly believe that. Time will tell if I’m wrong.
So, in conclusion? Just write, and stop worrying. That’s today’s advice. See you in like a week.
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