I am calling it Octopus Brain.
It's when you are tuned in to every chapter in your manuscript. When you have all the characters, subplots, and revision notes carefully balanced in your mind, even the ones you're planning to cut. And when you make an edit to a particular scene, you instantly know which other scenes will be affected by that change. It's wonderful. I have a tentacle on all the different pieces and--for the most part--none of them are getting away from me. I feel like all the synapses are firing and I'm holding the whole novel in my consciousness.
NOT EASY!
However, I feel a kind of writerly athleticism. I feel scrappy and ready to make things happen. I'm at peace with the fact that it's a long process (for me) and I am ready to work. My intellect is fully engaged, but I'm loose, I'm in the flow. I have my right brain and left brain working together. It's a dream come true!
Did anyone see Minority Report? Remember the scene where Tom Cruise is moving all those images around on the clear glass screen with his fancy hi-tech gloves? He moves them faster and faster, getting rid of some, pulling some together, getting closer to an answer--a conclusion. Here's hoping my Octopus Brain will keep firing on all cylinders until I find my own. I want it to be a conclusion that rings true and feels satisfying. I think I can do it!
How does it work for you? Is it easy for you to hold long manuscripts in your head? Or are you like me, and you need months of marinating in your book before you can take it where it needs to go? I love hearing about everyone's process. Cheers!
I love it! Octopus brain. I just came from a session of revising a mostly done ms, trying to strengthen some threads, and with every page, I have to think about whether I could add a sentence or a scene for each of the five or six overall threads.
ReplyDeleteI had to step away, and check email and read blogs and fold laundry after every such session.
All best to your revision.
Octopus brain? ;) I remember the day I realised 120,000 words into my wip that I couldn't remember everything I had said about everyone - I was shocked. I learned to keep character notes in a file - way more reliable.
ReplyDeleteha ha! I love this!! I need to get myself an octopus brain.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm better able to wrap my brain around this WIP than my last books because I'm going with a simpler plot. And I'm making more tools this time around too. For instance, I made a master document with every chapter summary, page count, etc... Believe it or not, I've never done that before. *blush* But having that as a supporting doc has been immensely helpful as I edit.
Yay for opctopus brain! Have fun swimming through those rewrite waters. :)
Amy
I love the term octopus brain. :)
ReplyDeleteI get the whole manuscript in my brain when I'm revising, repeatedly combing through it and reading through the entire book to make every scene, sentence, and word the best I can. You described the feeling beautifully.
Go, Molly!
Molly, I absolutely love the term you coined. Yes! That's what it feels like. Toward the end of my most recent WIP, I was an octopus in action! Now that I'm brainstorming for another... well, let's just say the tentacles need some exercise. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you have struck (or carefully come upon) a bit of genius. That is EXACTLY how revising feels to me, too! Best of luck!
ReplyDelete