Okay so I’m not actually writing a draft at the moment but when I was working on mine this lesson was VERY relevant.
You know the drill, you write frantically pounding out several pages in quick succession. The next day when you come back to it you take what is meant to be a quick glance over to familiarize yourself but it turns into a 3 hour intensive editing session.
Let’s just point out that your first draft is supposed to be messy and yeah somewhat heinous. It’s normal! The first draft is just the mud at the bottom of the lake. It inspires you to fill it with beautiful clear thoughts (water *grin*). Possibly not the best analogy but you get the drift ; p So you need to resist the urge to fix it. Because at this moment it’s actually a waste of precious drafting time.
It’s about getting that rough dirty story down on paper and then polishing it into a gem that sparkles.
how right you are nicole! so hard though! ugh so very very hard…
yes, so very hard to do! especially when you really want to go back and change chapter 1 now that you know exactly what needs to be changed! But wait, i haven't finished the draft….drat!
Ooo believe me, I sympathise completely with that 🙂 But you finish your draft so much quicker when you stop trying to perfect a chapter at a time ;p
You are so right. When I don't have things screaming in my head to get out, that's when I do a brief once over of things I've already written. I don't get really down and dirty though until it's all done.
*hee* you could soooo take this post and its comments out of context ;p
OMG–that picture made me laugh so hard!!
~JD
This is one of the two things I suck at (the other thing I suck at is none of anyone's business!) I attempt Picasso on a first-draft when I should just be finger-painting. I just can't bring myself to send it out to my critique partner all sloppy. Makes for a slow, tortuous first draft. And does it prevent me from having to edit it when I'm done? Notafreakingchance.
@ JD – me too!
@scarlett – oooh I can so sympathise with that 🙂
You are absolutely correct…..the horror of thinking you have it down & then, boom, not enough or too much.
I have subscribed to your blog.
Welcome Melissa 🙂