Sunday, January 31, 2016

First Drafts

It's late January, and in Ohio, that usually means snow is covering the ground and black ice is waiting to trip you up at every turn. But it's been an unusual winter so far and I'm loving still having a green front yard. Not a pretty green yard, but one with good bones. Kind of reminds me of a flash first draft.



Allow me to explain my logic. A first draft, at least my first drafts, are a loosey-goosey compilation of scenes that may or may not fit together. It's definitely not pretty, just bare bones. Kind of like my  yard in winter. Where are the flowers? The nice stone edging marking the beds where the crocuses will rise out of the snow in March? The yard art that shows my personality, my style?

All that happens later. After I finish the first draft, and see that I actually do have a story to tell and that there's a happy ever after ending to it, I go back to the beginning and start adding in the flowers,  the roses with their musky smell, the heady strong scent of the lilies and the sweet-smelling hyacinths.


I'm working through the second draft of my new historical, which is very dear to my heart, since it's based on family lore. My uncle and I have had many conversations about what could have happened and how, and his ideas are very much in play with this story. I'm adding in the color, the details, to the story now, making room for those scenes I was in too much of a hurry to write during the first draft and smoothing out some of my transitions. Once I finish the slightly more polished second draft, I'll go back to the beginning and start again, adding in the little details that elevate a manuscript to a published work. 

I expect to be working on this story, tentatively called Dance With Destiny, until March or so. I expect, at some time during the long days of February, to have my yard covered with snow, and black ice will make walking hazardous. I hope to not get buried in it, like my friend in the DC area last week, but this is Ohio and this lovely weather can't last.


At least I know I have lots to do, many revisions to make before this manuscript will be ready for publication. I will load up my house with food, and laugh at the weather. I will work hard, and maybe, just maybe, by the time the crocuses poke their heads through the snow, I will have a polished manuscript that both my uncle and I can be proud of.

14 comments:

  1. It sounds lovely and cozy and very productive. Enjoy, Becky!

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    1. Thanks, J. Arlene! I know this weather can't last, but it's another glorious day here in northern Ohio. One day at a time.

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  2. Interesting writing process Becky. Good luck with your manuscript:)

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    1. Thanks, Amanda. It's a long way from being a finished product, if today's work is any indication, but it will get there.

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  3. I tend to write straight through, then go back and add the flowers -- except for the proposal I'm writing now. I keep going back and making the words shine. I'm a few days (depending on my strength) away from finishing the proposal. Then I'll go back to my normal writing process.

    I hope.

    We had lovely weather here in Greater St Louis yesterday. I don't know what it's supposed to do today. Happy Sunday Becky.

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    1. I'm glad you're having lovely weather, too, Lynn. It's in the 50s here today, and I'm going to enjoy it while I can. Got some work done on the historical today, and got my cell phone up and running, so it's been a good day. Happy Sunday, Lynn!

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  4. We's having rain and a piece of my roof is leaking - much like the plot of my first draft.

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    1. Fortunately, both can be fixed–but not without some sweat equity on both cases.

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  5. Hi Becky, I enjoyed reading about your writing process. Like you, I don't worry too much about how pretty my first draft looks. One of my writing instructors said it best: "Puke it out...Mop it up." Maybe not as graphic...

    Happy writing!

    Joanne :)

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    1. I love your quote! I always think about what Nora Roberts said: I can't fix a blank page. So getting something, anything, down, is a step in the right direction.

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  6. Weather and writing seem to go together, I get more done in the winter. By March you should have lots of flowers.
    Thanks,
    Tema Mereback
    Writing as Belle Ami
    The One (The Only One) #1
    The One & More (The Only One) #2
    Coming 2016 – One More Time is Not Enough (The Only One) #3
    http://bookshow.me/TheOne
    http://bookshow.me/TheOneAndMore
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belle.ami.96?fref=ts
    Twitter: @BelleAmi5
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    Website: http://belleami.us

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    1. Thanks, Tema. Having more time to write is about the only positive to winter, at least in my book.

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  7. I love how you compare your life with your writing style. I tend to clean up as I go, probably why it takes me so long to write. Good luck with the new book.

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    1. We each have to find the writing technique that works best for us. Your house is probably spotless, just as your writing is. I'm like Nora--I stop and shovel myself out after each draft, then get back to it.

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