I'm deep into my first draft for Dragon Magic, my young adult contemporary fantasy, which is the third and final book in the Prophecy of the Dragons series/trilogy, so I thought I'd share a few paragraphs from the ol' work in progress. No context here, just going to dive right in. This has not been edited in any way, so I apologize if it seems rough. Well, because it is rough. It's a rough draft, after all! I hope you enjoy!
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They approached the closed door, and Ben tried to lift the iron bar, but it didn't budge. He then tried to push. Maybe the bar was an illusion, a trick, but that didn't prove right, either. "You could go dragon and see if you can open it," he suggested to Andi.
"Or you could try the magic word."
He frowned, but nodded. Which word would that be? Certainly nothing Felix had taught him. Every magic word he learned from his master went with a specific spell. They were magic words, of course, but not the magic word. "Abracadabra," he tried. Nothing. "Open sesame." Nope. "Open says me?"
Andi snorted out laughter but smacked him in the shoulder. "I know your mother raised you better than that. Well, maybe not during the dark, fighting years, but before and after that. I saw the after first-hand."
Then it dawned on him. No, it couldn't be that simple. Could it? But Andi was so sure -- there was no mistaking that in her emotions. So there was only one thing to do. In a meek voice, he said, "Please?"
The iron bar disappeared, and the door swung open. Andi gave him a smirk, and said, "There, was that so hard?"
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I hope you enjoyed this brief peek into my story! Remember, you can purchase book 1, Dragon Guard, right now on either you Kindle, Kindle app, or in paperback. Simply click on the picture of the cover in the upper right corner of this page.
Showing posts with label first draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first draft. Show all posts
Monday, July 22, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
First Drafts
Writers tend to write differently. Some come up with an idea and immediately start writing their story. This is their first draft. Others, like me, tend to plot it out first. But is this considered a first draft? Does it matter how much is plotted? For example, one writer might sketch out the chapters of a novel on 3x5 cards - a few sentences, maybe a paragraph, on each card - simply to get the writing flowing. Others like to write out a page (or sometimes much more) on each chapter before starting the actual writing process. I tend to write this way - a notebook or more is filled before I begin putting pen to paper on the traditional first draft. But is it a first draft? Or is that big outline actually considered the first draft? After all, when I'm done writing, the story is basically in place, meaning I don't change much of the structure in the editing process. Thanks to the outline I spent so much time on, the story is intact. (It still needs major editing, but that's basically for word and phrase choices and things like that, not the structure of the story itself.)
So what do you think? Is a big outline considered a first draft, or do you wait until the story is written before calling it a first draft? Chime in!
So what do you think? Is a big outline considered a first draft, or do you wait until the story is written before calling it a first draft? Chime in!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
First Drafts
Since I'm in the middle of a first draft at the moment, I thought this would be an excellent topic for the week. I know many would-be authors (and even authors who've already written their own books) worry about the correct procedure for working on first drafts. Do you simply write as fast as you can and worry about it when it's time to edit, do you edit as you go, or do you do a mix of both? So I'm going to give you my answer in both short and long form.
The short answer is to write it however you're most comfortable. As long as it gets written, you've done it the correct way.
The long answer is the same, but I'd like to expand on it. Some writers can turn off their internal editor and simply pour words onto the page. This usually means the first draft will be done quicker, but the editing process will take longer. Others claim they can't move on if a page is not perfect. They must edit, edit again, and so on until they are happy enough with the work to continue with new words. This will undoubtedly lead to first drafts taking a much longer time, but editing, at least the copy editing stage, will be much shorter. And then you have the middle ground, where you think about the final product (word choices, tense, POV issues, plot devices, etc.) as you write. You're not simply pouring words onto the page, but you're not taking the time to fully edit, either. Some days the words will fly onto the page, and others you will struggle to get many at all (though, to be fair, this happens no matter how you choose to work on your draft).
So how do you know which way to work? Simple: try different ways to see what makes you most comfortable. A comfortable writer is a productive writer. If you hate your process, why continue doing it? Find a better way. Personally, I choose the middle ground. I can't just let the words fly and fix them later, but neither do I see the point in fixing up everything as I go. I often spend too much time sitting staring at my paper trying to come up with that perfect word or phrase, but if I catch myself doing this too often, I can simply put a good enough word for now down (I will often highlight or circle the word to know to fix it in edits) and continue with my draft. This gets me through a first draft quick enough, even if it's not as quick as possible. I find it makes my editing easier, though it is still a long process.
How about you? Which first draft process do you use? Have you tried other methods, or do you simply know this is for you? Are you happy with your method, or are you still searching? Feel free to share in the comments!
The short answer is to write it however you're most comfortable. As long as it gets written, you've done it the correct way.
The long answer is the same, but I'd like to expand on it. Some writers can turn off their internal editor and simply pour words onto the page. This usually means the first draft will be done quicker, but the editing process will take longer. Others claim they can't move on if a page is not perfect. They must edit, edit again, and so on until they are happy enough with the work to continue with new words. This will undoubtedly lead to first drafts taking a much longer time, but editing, at least the copy editing stage, will be much shorter. And then you have the middle ground, where you think about the final product (word choices, tense, POV issues, plot devices, etc.) as you write. You're not simply pouring words onto the page, but you're not taking the time to fully edit, either. Some days the words will fly onto the page, and others you will struggle to get many at all (though, to be fair, this happens no matter how you choose to work on your draft).
So how do you know which way to work? Simple: try different ways to see what makes you most comfortable. A comfortable writer is a productive writer. If you hate your process, why continue doing it? Find a better way. Personally, I choose the middle ground. I can't just let the words fly and fix them later, but neither do I see the point in fixing up everything as I go. I often spend too much time sitting staring at my paper trying to come up with that perfect word or phrase, but if I catch myself doing this too often, I can simply put a good enough word for now down (I will often highlight or circle the word to know to fix it in edits) and continue with my draft. This gets me through a first draft quick enough, even if it's not as quick as possible. I find it makes my editing easier, though it is still a long process.
How about you? Which first draft process do you use? Have you tried other methods, or do you simply know this is for you? Are you happy with your method, or are you still searching? Feel free to share in the comments!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
How I Write My First Draft
Click here to view a list of my earlier writing posts
How I Write My First Draft
After my outline is set, I'm ready to get down to the nitty-gritty process of writing the first draft of the novel. I do this with pen and paper instead of on my computer's word processor. This is for a couple of reasons. First, I enjoy the process much more, and I find if I'm having fun, the words come out better (both in quality and quantity). Second, when I type out what I've written onto my computer, I use that step as a first pass-through in the revision process. I don't make any big changes, but I'm able to clean up sloppy wordings, punctuation, and grammar. This saves me a bit of time later when I'd rather be focusing on fixing the story.
The first draft process is basically nothing more than following my outline. I make sure to keep a notebook open next to me so I can jot down notes that will both help in later chapters as well as in the revision process. Mostly these notes are names I come up with while writing: secondary and other minor characters, places, things important to the story, etc. I also take notes on ideas I have which will improve the story overall. If I haven't yet come to that part, I'll add the notes to my outline after my writing session is done for that day. Sometimes I can simply jot the note down on the appropriate 3x5 card, while other times I'll need to redo a number of cards.
if I come up with changes to parts of the manuscript I've already written, I don't go back and fix it during the first draft stage. I'll simply jot down what needs to change and make those corrections/improvements in the revision process. In the meantime, I continue writing as if those changes have already been implemented. The most important thing in my mind is to get the first draft down on paper. As long as my notes tell me where I began writing as if the changes were in place, it's easy enough to both fix it later without worrying that the story won't work.
For the most part, that's it. As long as i did a good job in the outlining stage, the first draft should run smooth. Of course there are always days where the words flow better than others, but as long as I stick to my outline, I know I'll get through the first draft sooner rather than later. I also keep in mind that overall first drafts are terrible. Sure, on the whole they're good stories with many instances of sparkling writing, but they're also filled with sloppy wordings, cliches, and many other mistakes. That's fine, as I've learned to, for the most part, keep my inner editor at bay during this. I believe first drafts aren't meant for anyone but the author. I don't share my novel with anyone until well into the revision process, but more on that later.
And speaking of the revision process, I'll begin discussing what I do next week. Check back next Wednesday for that. Until then, keep writing and/or reading.
How I Write My First Draft
After my outline is set, I'm ready to get down to the nitty-gritty process of writing the first draft of the novel. I do this with pen and paper instead of on my computer's word processor. This is for a couple of reasons. First, I enjoy the process much more, and I find if I'm having fun, the words come out better (both in quality and quantity). Second, when I type out what I've written onto my computer, I use that step as a first pass-through in the revision process. I don't make any big changes, but I'm able to clean up sloppy wordings, punctuation, and grammar. This saves me a bit of time later when I'd rather be focusing on fixing the story.
The first draft process is basically nothing more than following my outline. I make sure to keep a notebook open next to me so I can jot down notes that will both help in later chapters as well as in the revision process. Mostly these notes are names I come up with while writing: secondary and other minor characters, places, things important to the story, etc. I also take notes on ideas I have which will improve the story overall. If I haven't yet come to that part, I'll add the notes to my outline after my writing session is done for that day. Sometimes I can simply jot the note down on the appropriate 3x5 card, while other times I'll need to redo a number of cards.
if I come up with changes to parts of the manuscript I've already written, I don't go back and fix it during the first draft stage. I'll simply jot down what needs to change and make those corrections/improvements in the revision process. In the meantime, I continue writing as if those changes have already been implemented. The most important thing in my mind is to get the first draft down on paper. As long as my notes tell me where I began writing as if the changes were in place, it's easy enough to both fix it later without worrying that the story won't work.
For the most part, that's it. As long as i did a good job in the outlining stage, the first draft should run smooth. Of course there are always days where the words flow better than others, but as long as I stick to my outline, I know I'll get through the first draft sooner rather than later. I also keep in mind that overall first drafts are terrible. Sure, on the whole they're good stories with many instances of sparkling writing, but they're also filled with sloppy wordings, cliches, and many other mistakes. That's fine, as I've learned to, for the most part, keep my inner editor at bay during this. I believe first drafts aren't meant for anyone but the author. I don't share my novel with anyone until well into the revision process, but more on that later.
And speaking of the revision process, I'll begin discussing what I do next week. Check back next Wednesday for that. Until then, keep writing and/or reading.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Contents Page for my How I Write posts
If you missed some of my posts on writing (or want to read them again), here they are. I'm not putting dates on them, but I will put them in order, oldest on top. I'll update this page each time I have a new article.
Ideas
Writing Flash Fiction
Friday Flash
Novel Ideas
Novel Writing: Pre-First Draft Part 1
Initial Construction of Characters
Outlining a Novel--Pre-First Draft Part 2
Outlining a Novel--Pre-First Draft Part 3
Final Outline--Pre-First Draft Part 4
How I Write My First Draft
Ideas
Writing Flash Fiction
Friday Flash
Novel Ideas
Novel Writing: Pre-First Draft Part 1
Initial Construction of Characters
Outlining a Novel--Pre-First Draft Part 2
Outlining a Novel--Pre-First Draft Part 3
Final Outline--Pre-First Draft Part 4
How I Write My First Draft
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Revision Tip
Since I finished my first draft of my novel not too long ago, I thought I'd give a quick tip about revision during the draft process. Namely, don't. If you polish your first draft while you're writing, it's just keeping you from getting all of your initial words on the page. One of the best tips I've ever heard about the first draft process (and I have this taped to my bookshelf next to my writing desk) is: All first drafts stink. Just keep writing.
What this means is that you're not going to get a polished, publishable piece on the first go-through. You'll need to revise. Give yourself permission to write bad in the first draft process. Why? Because you'll be able to fix it up, make it wonderful, in the revision process. Let yourself get to the 2nd draft by finishing the first.
How many times have you heard of writers having unfinished novels filed away somewhere. Why are they unfinished? Because they didn't give themselves permission to simply write the story. Their inner critic told them it was stinky, that this idea would never fly, so the writer just gave up on the project. I know because I've done it. If we ignore the inner critic and realize we don't have to put our best prose out in the first draft, we'll finish a lot more of our work.
First drafts should be about experimenting with the story. Even if you're a heavy outliner, you still need to play around with the words to make everything authentic in your story. While you get these words down on the page, don't go back and fix things you've already written. Finish what you started, and fix it later.
What happens if you come up with a stroke of brilliance that will help the beginning of your story? Make a note to yourself to fix it in the 2nd draft. If you know the change will be made, write the rest of the story as if you already wrote it. That'll save some of your revision time.
Finish your first draft, and fix it in the second draft. In this early part of your novel, the most important thing is to get that initial draft done. If you don't, there's going to be nothing to revise later. What good is a polished first chapter with nothing following it? I hope this tip helps. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
What this means is that you're not going to get a polished, publishable piece on the first go-through. You'll need to revise. Give yourself permission to write bad in the first draft process. Why? Because you'll be able to fix it up, make it wonderful, in the revision process. Let yourself get to the 2nd draft by finishing the first.
How many times have you heard of writers having unfinished novels filed away somewhere. Why are they unfinished? Because they didn't give themselves permission to simply write the story. Their inner critic told them it was stinky, that this idea would never fly, so the writer just gave up on the project. I know because I've done it. If we ignore the inner critic and realize we don't have to put our best prose out in the first draft, we'll finish a lot more of our work.
First drafts should be about experimenting with the story. Even if you're a heavy outliner, you still need to play around with the words to make everything authentic in your story. While you get these words down on the page, don't go back and fix things you've already written. Finish what you started, and fix it later.
What happens if you come up with a stroke of brilliance that will help the beginning of your story? Make a note to yourself to fix it in the 2nd draft. If you know the change will be made, write the rest of the story as if you already wrote it. That'll save some of your revision time.
Finish your first draft, and fix it in the second draft. In this early part of your novel, the most important thing is to get that initial draft done. If you don't, there's going to be nothing to revise later. What good is a polished first chapter with nothing following it? I hope this tip helps. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Words to Watch
I've noticed too often lately words being used incorrectly. It happens all the time on message boards, Twitter, blogs, and other places where people write (obviously). I'm not going to take too much time to go over this today, as I've seen this topic in other blogs, but it still happens, so I want to just take a post to go over it. I'm just going to take a few simple ones that should be the easiest to avoid.
One such pair of words is its and it's. This one is easy enough with just a bit of memorization. If you remember that it only gets an apostrophe as a contraction, you're good to go. It's is the equivalent of it is. If you want the possessive, there is no apostrophe.
Problems with your and you're also seem to be popping up all over the Internet. This one is even easier than its and it's in my opinion. The contraction, you're, is the same as saying you are. The apostrophe is simply taking the place of the "a" in are and the space between the words. The simplest way to describe your, however, is to call it the possessive form of you. Instead of the apostrophe used to show possessive with you, your is used instead. For example, we wouldn't say you's jacket, we'd say your jacket.
One more I want to cover is actually a trifecta: their, there, and they're. Their is the possessive form of they. For example: It is their lunch. They're is a contraction for they are. The apostrophe takes the place of the a in are and the space between the two words. There is a bit more tricky to explain. It can be an adverb, pronoun, noun, adjective, or interjection. You can click here to see its many uses. Basically, since I'm keeping it real simple today (we can go into more depth in the comments or via email if you want to get deeper into this subject), just know you're pretty safe using "there" if the word you're looking for is not a contraction or the possessive form of they. Obviously it's more in depth than that, but for quick first-draft type writings, that'll get you through just fine.
I still often type the wrong words when I'm trying to get through something quickly. Usually when you do that, it's fine to just wait for your revision before you fix it. But if you're doing something like a blog, twitter, or message board post where your first draft is your final draft, follow these simple rules to help yourself with these sometimes tricky words. There are plenty of other tricky words that I've notice causing problems out in cyberspace, as well, but remember these three for now. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
One such pair of words is its and it's. This one is easy enough with just a bit of memorization. If you remember that it only gets an apostrophe as a contraction, you're good to go. It's is the equivalent of it is. If you want the possessive, there is no apostrophe.
Problems with your and you're also seem to be popping up all over the Internet. This one is even easier than its and it's in my opinion. The contraction, you're, is the same as saying you are. The apostrophe is simply taking the place of the "a" in are and the space between the words. The simplest way to describe your, however, is to call it the possessive form of you. Instead of the apostrophe used to show possessive with you, your is used instead. For example, we wouldn't say you's jacket, we'd say your jacket.
One more I want to cover is actually a trifecta: their, there, and they're. Their is the possessive form of they. For example: It is their lunch. They're is a contraction for they are. The apostrophe takes the place of the a in are and the space between the two words. There is a bit more tricky to explain. It can be an adverb, pronoun, noun, adjective, or interjection. You can click here to see its many uses. Basically, since I'm keeping it real simple today (we can go into more depth in the comments or via email if you want to get deeper into this subject), just know you're pretty safe using "there" if the word you're looking for is not a contraction or the possessive form of they. Obviously it's more in depth than that, but for quick first-draft type writings, that'll get you through just fine.
I still often type the wrong words when I'm trying to get through something quickly. Usually when you do that, it's fine to just wait for your revision before you fix it. But if you're doing something like a blog, twitter, or message board post where your first draft is your final draft, follow these simple rules to help yourself with these sometimes tricky words. There are plenty of other tricky words that I've notice causing problems out in cyberspace, as well, but remember these three for now. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Write Or Die!
I started using Dr. Wicked's Write or Die program earlier this week. I've found it to be a great help to get me writing. I usually start strong in my writing sessions, but as I go, my attention tends to wander, and I want to check out different Internet sites, either for research or to just avoid the current writing session. As you can imagine, the words don't come quickly or easily.
With Write or Die, though, there is no distraction. It's a bare-minimum word processing program, basically just a notepad writer. The trick is you have to keep typing in order to keep the consequences from lashing out at you. Instead of me telling you what the consequences are, just go check out Write or Die from my above link. It's quite self-explanatory. I usually use "gentle mode" because I tend to have my speakers off when I'm writing, although so far the red background warning of the coming consequence has been enough to get my fingers typing again.
This is a great program for first drafts of any kind. It forces you to keep your fingers on the keyboard so you'll actually get words down. Make sure you save your work before you close your window, as it does not auto-save it for you. Anyway, I just wanted to let those writers who don't know about this handy website that it exists and is easy to use. I hope it will help with your output. You can also brag about how many words you wrote by clicking a button on the "Done" screen. I posted my word count on Twitter just a few minutes ago. Anyway, that's enough for this week. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
With Write or Die, though, there is no distraction. It's a bare-minimum word processing program, basically just a notepad writer. The trick is you have to keep typing in order to keep the consequences from lashing out at you. Instead of me telling you what the consequences are, just go check out Write or Die from my above link. It's quite self-explanatory. I usually use "gentle mode" because I tend to have my speakers off when I'm writing, although so far the red background warning of the coming consequence has been enough to get my fingers typing again.
This is a great program for first drafts of any kind. It forces you to keep your fingers on the keyboard so you'll actually get words down. Make sure you save your work before you close your window, as it does not auto-save it for you. Anyway, I just wanted to let those writers who don't know about this handy website that it exists and is easy to use. I hope it will help with your output. You can also brag about how many words you wrote by clicking a button on the "Done" screen. I posted my word count on Twitter just a few minutes ago. Anyway, that's enough for this week. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
1st Draft Done
I finally finished the first draft of my novel. I did a good job of writing 5000 words a week, so really the story didn't take as long as I'd hoped because the entire story ended up to only be about 40,000 words, about half as long as it needs to be to be marketable as a novel. I'm putting it away for a month or so before I get back to it. Basically I want to go at it with fresh eyes when I go back to it. I want to add some to the story, but I'm not sure how much yet. I've read that the e-book revolution wants novellas, which this basically is at this point. I'm not sure if I add too much if it will mess up the story I have now, so I may not want to add too much. Also, after I add content, I'm sure what I have will also be trimmed because of wordiness, so that will cut the word count.
Basically, what I'm saying is I'm thrilled that I finished the first draft, but the real work will begin in a month or so when I pull it out again. I'm happy with it; I think it has promise, but it is in no way marketable yet. I can't imagine I'll add enough to make it a true novel, but I hope to add, subtract, and polish enough to make it a marketable novella. Hopefully some day all of you will have a chance to read it!
I'll have an announcement about a new project I will be undertaking coming soon. I don't want to say too much yet, as I don't have all the details pounded out in my mind yet, but I'll let everyone know soon. Basically it will be a story told in blog form. More on it later. Until then, keep reading and/or writing.
Basically, what I'm saying is I'm thrilled that I finished the first draft, but the real work will begin in a month or so when I pull it out again. I'm happy with it; I think it has promise, but it is in no way marketable yet. I can't imagine I'll add enough to make it a true novel, but I hope to add, subtract, and polish enough to make it a marketable novella. Hopefully some day all of you will have a chance to read it!
I'll have an announcement about a new project I will be undertaking coming soon. I don't want to say too much yet, as I don't have all the details pounded out in my mind yet, but I'll let everyone know soon. Basically it will be a story told in blog form. More on it later. Until then, keep reading and/or writing.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Open Script Jitters?
So I finished my first screenplay. The first draft anyway, though I doubt I'll bother polishing this one. I guess I got what I wanted out of it--a good learning experience. No, that's not true. I wanted something I could polish and see if Hollywood wanted it, though I guess the learning experience is good, too.
I have a problem with underplotting. I've done so on the novel I'm working on (though I believe I'll be able to fix that in my second draft), and I did it in my screenplay. Feature screenplays run between 90 and 120 pages. Mine clocked in at a whopping 23. Not fixable in a second draft without huge plotting fixes. Personally, I think I'd prefer to move onto something else instead of working this one to death. Oh well, as I said, I learned quite a bit, so it's not a total loss.
I think I pretty much knew going in that I didn't have enough story. Add to that I didn't work very hard on the characters, and I was doomed from the start. I feel like I did enough right, however, that I will try again. I enjoyed the process, and once I got used to the structure and the extreme show-don't tell rule, I did all right. The pre-writing had me down from the beginning, though. Now I know a bit more, so my next attempt should be better. I hope, anyway.
That's it for now. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
I have a problem with underplotting. I've done so on the novel I'm working on (though I believe I'll be able to fix that in my second draft), and I did it in my screenplay. Feature screenplays run between 90 and 120 pages. Mine clocked in at a whopping 23. Not fixable in a second draft without huge plotting fixes. Personally, I think I'd prefer to move onto something else instead of working this one to death. Oh well, as I said, I learned quite a bit, so it's not a total loss.
I think I pretty much knew going in that I didn't have enough story. Add to that I didn't work very hard on the characters, and I was doomed from the start. I feel like I did enough right, however, that I will try again. I enjoyed the process, and once I got used to the structure and the extreme show-don't tell rule, I did all right. The pre-writing had me down from the beginning, though. Now I know a bit more, so my next attempt should be better. I hope, anyway.
That's it for now. Until next time, keep reading and/or writing.
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