Just a short post here to announce my latest story to get published. It's called "Haulers," and it's here on Crack the Spine. Basic premise: guy who hauls trash for a living is having a hard time getting over his 15 minutes of infamy that happened when he ended up in a viral video he'd rather forget.
More to say later about this story and how it came to be, but for now, I'll just let the story do the talking. Have a great weekend.
it's a lot of words. i wish it were hard copy.
ReplyDeleteHi Jacob — I enjoyed your story. (I've also enjoyed your other posts. I've been reading your blog for a little while now, but haven't commented yet.) I'm curious about your writing process from first to final draft. Do you do a lot of rewriting? I'm always curious how much other writers throw out and/or completely rewrite.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question and for replying, Rachel. I probably re-write less than the median writer does, but there are exceptions. When I wrote this story (http://www.drunkmonkeys.us/2017-posts/2018/1/8/fiction-directions-partially-step-by-step-jacob-weber), I started on Saturday morning and sent in that final draft three days later. It ended up very close to how it was at the end of the first draft.
DeleteHaulers, the one I posted about above, probably was one I spent more time re-working than most I've written.
When I do re-write something, beyond just changing word choices or paring things down, the two big changes I make are: 1) Making the story start at a different point, and 2) Adding in a significant detail somewhere to make the story feel more grounded. Sometimes, a detail or figure of speech will hit me, and rather than put it in a notebook for safe keeping, I throw it into a story I've already got.
Of course, I also do that thing all writers do where I write a story and it goes nowhere and then years later it becomes part of another story.
Thanks for sharing all of this! Process interests me so much, especially because every writer is different. I can relate to needing to change the beginnings of stories. (Unfortunately, I am also stubborn about my beginnings.) Looking forward to reading more of your work in the future.
DeleteHey Jake, enjoyed the story. Really like both the characters and the premise. Works.
ReplyDelete