03/05/2014
2028 words today, another busy day at work that kept me from going too far above my goal.
Continuity was an issue of mine today. It's an issue that plagues a lot of writers who fire from the hip and just write as they go. I had to double back a little and make a few adjustments when I realized that I should have referenced this earlier. I also needed to dip back a couple of chapters to see what I already referenced that I needed to use. I want to avoid putting in unnecessary things that never get seen again. In my eyes, if it's not important to the plot or to a character's development or background, it's generally tough to find a reason to put it into a book.
With sci-fi (and fantasy, too) I have the luxury of readers expecting a bit more book for their buck. I can be a little extra wordy, or throw in some otherwise not totally necessary world-building in order to create an atmosphere that's not familiar to the reader. Even still, I try not to go off on a tirade of back story for a character who has one insignificant line. Also, if the line is insignificant enough, I think the line can be omitted. Then if the character's not saying or doing anything important anymore, get rid of that character! Writing can be tough in this way, because you can see and imagine great things, but they're not necessarily useful in the book, and can bog it down and ruin your pacing or destroy your readers patience and interest.
In any case, for me, it's all about the editing. I'll be able to see how badly I maintained continuity in the first revision.
Bishop
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