Day 5 - The Dilemma

One of the major things I've been struggling with in this novel is repeating myself. As I've said before, this novel is about musicians. Now we all know that musicians play shows. But a lot of times, musicians play the same set list over and over. So describing the same scene, with very few changes (including venue and audience) is really hard for me. I want to include detailed portions on each and every show that is played, because what kind of book about musicians is it if there is no music? But at the same time, I feel it would be tedious to read..."and tonight we played again, *insert revised description from the previous scene* and it was great."

And I know that I don't have to include it all. I mean, Harry Potter goes to class every day, but does JK Rowling detail every single lesson? No. Only the ones that are important to the story arc. My concern is just that I don't want readers to sit there at the end and think What kind of musician doesn't play music?

Maybe the biggest issue is that I don't know how to figure out what conclusions the reader can or can't draw for himself or herself. I want to trust that they can insert scenes with their imagination, and that they know there is more to these characters than meets the page. But these are my characters, and I know them better than anyone else. Who is to say that everyone else will draw the same conclusions about them that I can?

And that is where it is helpful to have people who will HONESTLY critique your work. Friends, family, people in your target audience...anyone who will give you feedback...they should all read over your draft before you decide it's finished. Or at least, that's the way it works for me. I need someone to tell me whether or not I'm leaving too much to the audience to figure out, or if I'm oversharing. Of course, the ultimate decision is up to me, but having input definitely makes it much easier.

PS Has anyone ever filmed a music video?