Insecure Writers' Support Group (IWSG) is a
really awesome meme that you should be doing along with the rest of us
writers. Unless you truly are happy with your writing and don't feel the
need to vent about your insecurities because they don't exist for you. But, really.... Don't they?
IWSG is hosted by Captain Ninja Alex at his blog, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
IWSG is hosted by Captain Ninja Alex at his blog, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
I don't have much to report this month for the blog hop, other than that I'm doing well and getting my manuscript written pretty much every day. It is coming along well! I'm very happy about that. I'm not writing circles around anybody, but I am getting some writing done regularly and that does add up very quickly.
Occasionally, I mess up and feel like I have to fix it right away, but then I remind myself that my first draft is MINE, and no one else will ever read it the way it is and is becoming. I will make a second draft after this and fix it up as best I can, and that will be read by critique partners and beta readers. So, everything is fine! I write down little notes to myself to remind me of what I want to change when it comes time to make a second draft.
This actually does help me because I have had the tendency, in the past, to write like my first draft was my last and final version forever. That really is the suckiest lie to buy into. Just let it be crap! It's a first draft and they are always crap and should be crap.
Anyway, how has everyone else's writing been going, lately? Keeping up or falling behind?
Hi,
ReplyDeleteRight ON! You're doing great. My first draft is always Mine. Don't worry about corrections. You'll do that in your rewriting and revising. I'm happy for you.
Shalom,
Patricia
Thank you! I do finally understand that the first draft is mine.
DeleteThanks for dropping by. ;)
I agree with Pat Garcia. I would ask, if you write your first draft as your last, do you self edit as you go along? Do you think this get in the way of your creative flow? Form me, I write the first draft at the computer with my eyes closed. Sure I have a messy draft, but there are some creative bits worth keeping. Keep writing, you'll find a style that works for you.
ReplyDeleteI don't actually do that anymore, as I said in my post. Of course, it did get in the way of even finishing a first draft, as one could expect. But, I have overcome this tendency by now.
DeleteThat's so, so true! The first draft is just that. If I have something to add that is a quick fix, I might do so, but if it's anything major, I make note of it and move on. It helps to move the story along than constantly revising the same ol' thing.
ReplyDeleteThe first draft is crap and it's okay because it's supposed to be that way. That mentally works.
DeleteThanks for visiting, Cherie!
I haven't written for ages but when I did I would stress about my first draft too. There's no need. Like you said, no one but you will be seeing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenny. I finally get that now and it's so liberating! ;)
DeleteJust write and don't think about editing. Don't interrupt that flow!
ReplyDeleteExactly! Hey, where were you a year ago? Just kidding.... ;)
DeleteI'm so glad you've been able to find a groove with this novel and keep going with it! It's so hard when you're wanting to write but it just doesn't come. I used to be able to just write crap and let it be awful but for some reason I've gone the other way now and can't seem to just write and let it be. I think it's just that I'm afraid of the editing process because it's so tedious. But we will get there in the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm having a lot of fun writing this novel because it's just a carefree story that doesn't have to be anything other than what it is. It's great! I don't feel any pressure. You just have to let yourself off the hook and write what needs to be written, good or ill. We're both still learning. Writing is just learning all the time, it seems.
DeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteEven Hemmingway: said "The first draft of anything is shit."
As long as you keep writing!
Thank you and thanks for the Hemmingway quote. I know it well. I think it applies to everything, too, including The Phantom Menace.... ;P
DeleteIt is freeing when you start thinking, "I'll just get the words down and fix any issues in the second draft." Glad to see you're making progress.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephanie. It is very freeing.
DeleteI don't write my first draft as if it's the final one, but I do go back and revise it some before going on. If I don't force myself to make some of the major editing decisions then, I just can't concentrate on the subsequent chapters. But that's just me.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can make progress on your draft. I used to do what you do, but it got me nowhere really fast. I had to drop that intention and allow myself to get the first draft done so I could have something to fix later.
DeleteGood luck to you!
Yes - "Embrace the suck!" It's great you're giving yourself the freedom to make mistakes and know you can correct them later -- but only if you have a finished draft to correct! Yay for your progress and I hope you have a productive month! :)
ReplyDeleteI embrace it! It's hard to because I'm a perfectionist, but I'm getting over myself. It has taken time, but I'm doing much better these days. Thanks!
Delete