This month, I’m participating in the AtoZ Blogging Challenge. The first post is A, the next is B and so on every day this month, except Sundays. Last year, my theme was Scotland. This year, my theme is The Writing Life. Check back here every day this month to follow along and find out what I’ve learned in the last year. For instance:
D is for Draft, First Draft – What takes a lot of time and effort, and possibly blood, sweat and tears, not to mention a martini or six? Not Bond, James Bond. It’s draft, first draft.
Trust me, it’s going to hurt.
In fact, there’s an excellent chance your first draft is going to suck. You won’t want anyone else to see it. You’ll wonder what you were thinking, calling yourself a writer. That’s okay. Once the first draft is done, you’ll have a better handle on the size and scope of your story, the personalities of your characters, and what you need to add and delete and change. Then, you can transform that hot mess into a fabulous book.
It’s all in that much-maligned first draft. Write on!
Image courtesy of Shawn Budemer/Flickr
I’m all about the drafts. I go through 5 or 6 before I’m happy. Happy A to Z blogging!
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/
I personally never do one entire “first draft.” It’s too painful to go back to that messy stuff. So, before I begin the next chapter, I re-read, re-edit and polish the prior one as much as possible. It also helps me re-connect the thread. Slow going, perhaps. I guess, I like simmering better than hard boiling. However, what counts is the end result no matter how you arrive at it.
To me, this is what is the most amazing thing about writers, the fact that they write something out, then write it out again and however many other times till it’s just how they want it. Hard work but it must feel so satisfying at the end when you get that perfect finish.
Willa, this pretty much sums up how I feel about every first draft that I write. I panic and think the world will soon learn that I’m a fraud as a writer. Then I gather my wits, brew a pot of tea, and start editing. Your post really struck a chord with me!
Good luck with the A to Z blogging challenge!