Writing in Reverse

Mistakes

Another issue was the fact that I wrote maybe too many unnecessary scenes.  Since they are trapped on an island and just trying to live, it's not really about anything else besides the love they gain for each other.  So some things could have been avoided I suppose, like the long dragging scenes.  I wrote nearly 90 chapters and if I knew it would have been that long, I wouldn't have spent so much time writing about the little details about daily life on the island.  I also got off track enough with some of the things they talked about too and I realize now that it was not just unneeded; it made it all look very sloppy.

Sloppy - one more issue I realized.  I would often write a chapter, planning to go in one direction.  But by the time it's posted, I changed my mind and want to take it someplace else.  So I have to maneuver back to a different scenario through 'oh, well maybe we should do this instead.'  A good example would be when they were trying to learn how to spear a fish.  They spent days out in the water trying but when I realized it was a better idea to just learn how to aim on the shore by shooting up at birds, they decided 'that was a better solution' so I continued and wrote about them now aiming and practicing differently even though that was already done in the water.  So I essentially had to reshape my ideas and try to play it off in the story as just some realization they had that it would be easier if they try on land first.  That's why it was sloppy.  I didn't know where I was going with a lot of what I was doing - carelessly jumping all over the place, you could say.

Another issue I had was grammar.  I am great in English, I know the differences between 'your' and 'you're' and I knew how to spell.  I am great at it.  So the reason there were so many grammar mistakes was because I would just write a chapter and post it.  I wouldn't go back and reread it before posting because after spending hours on a chapter, the last thing I felt like doing was going back and rereading it.  It was just tiring; I tried going back through to edit but after writing so much and having to read over the same thing, I also became easily distracted.  That was why this story was filled with so many mistakes like that.  As for writing words like 'there' instead of how I should have in some cases (their or they're) it's difficult for me to be thinking about that while I'm buried completely in the story alone.  I mean, every time I write one of those words, I just can't stop to see which one I need to use.  When you write, you need to worry only about that - writing!  Not about the little grammar mistakes along the way that has nothing to do with the actual story.  Some day, I hope to go back through and edit, which would surely be a long and painful process.

By the end of the book, I also realized that I could have developed the character's much vividly.  Janice and Casey had specific things about them that clearly made them who they are.  But none of them were deep enough for me to be satisfying.  People are extremely complex; nobody is alike.  That's why I was unable to develop them better - because it takes very unique and detailed aspects that I wasn't bothering to add.  There was no reason for why they are the way they are either.  For example, if a character is very negative, there is usually a clear reason - one that is more in depth besides something bad happening.  But their personalities were just so basic.  Sure, they were nice, funny, sweet, understanding... but most people are to a certain degree!  I didn't think about how much more I needed to bring the character to life.  It's not a good thing if your main characters are just like every other character on Wattpad.  Because in most stories on here, the characters are very basic and I didn't realize I was doing the same until I was done. 

And one of the biggest mistakes: getting carried away with their 'impossible and just so incredible' love story.  I loved writing intimate scenes between them because it showed how good they were together.  I loved writing all the sweet things Casey told her and how much Janice loved him back.  But I think I went a little too far.

I wanted their relationship to be special, unlike any other. I wanted it to be so incredibly strong, the love they had for each other.  I however over-expressed it to where I think it became a little tiring.  I didn't realize how often I had Casey saying something sweet to her or sharing a kiss with each other.  Now, those things are fine in my opinion.  But being how long the story was, I think the impact all those words he said, kisses they shared, started to fade. 

If you have a love story with only a few moments, very intimate and loving moments, between the two characters, than those few moments makes a bigger impact because its not seen in every chapter, their love.  Unlike that though, believe I tired and wore out their relationship to not only me but to the readers.  For example, when they first kissed, that was special and it made it stand out in their relationship.  Same thing for when they confessed their love and started to show it openly.  That was special too.  But from there, with every added kiss and 'I love you,' the value of that power was going down because it was happening too much. Did it still have an impact on us?  Yes.  But when Casey is constantly explaining how much Janice means to him, constantly telling her that she is everything to him, constantly showing his passion over her, it can get old.  And when it gets old, it doesn't have as much of an impact as it did the first time he said it to her.

I over did it, to say the least.  Some may not think so because they loved every intimate moment they shared.  And don't get me wrong, I loved writing every moment of them being together in that way.  It just lost a little bit of interest after hearing it over and over and it wasn't until I was done writing it that I realized that.  The reason I did that though was because this was a relationship that started on a place where there was no boundaries.  There was nobody else there and it only made them grow fonder of each other.  Take away the 'real world' and put them on an island, you'll get a very unique and close relationship going at a faster rate than you would if they weren't on an island.  So that was one reason as to why they were so passionate towards each other.  But it was also because I wanted to try to express a relationship of 'once in a lifetime' or rather 'too perfect for anybody else.'

I'm not the type of person one would expect to write a romance.  In fact, it was very different for me, so I was kind of ashamed of it for the reason that it was a love story.  It made me look at myself in a weak way because I hated the fact that I was doing what every other teenage girl in general writes on here: a romance.  It sounds bad when said like that but I just didn't want to be put in the same category when I wanted to do better, be much more. For some reason, I don't like fitting into whatever is typical for a teenage girl (maybe because most teenagers can annoy me easily). 

I feel accomplished from the book but not proud exactly.  And that was fine; that's how it should be in my opinion.  I can't be proud until I do my absolute best and that was clear Island Rush wouldn't be my best work.  I even knew that from the beginning - that's why I chose Island Rush to write first, because it was a romance and would be easier for me to write.  It wasn't unique enough, it really only focused on romance, and that's not the type of writer I want to be.  That's why Island Rush was like a test run - to figure out if I could write a book, whether it was good or bad.  And I could and did and it gave me the confidence to do it all over again, the right way.  Though there were an overwhelming number of mistakes, those mistakes were progress.

Island Rush will hold a special place in my heart for being my first story I ever finished among what will be many more.  It wasn't the best and that was absolutely fine.  It gave me ways to improve for what was coming next.