Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The Ups and Downs of First Drafts #IWSG


Hi everyone! 

Welcome to Insecure Writer's Support Group. We are a group writers who share our doubts and encouragements. I'd like to thank Alex Cavanaugh and this month's hosts. Learn more about the group here.





Work on my latest project is coming along. Right now I have a good flow going, but it's taking me longer to finish the first draft than I had hoped. I seem to be circling through the same three phases.

I start off positive.



But then something happens. I begin to doubt what I have written and all I can hear is Chuck telling me writing is hard.



That's about the time I walk away.

Thankfully, I always come back. I break out my pen and paper, my hidden stash of Dove chocolate, and brainstorm. Which brings me right back to "this is good". Repeat. Rinse. I'm at the top of the cycle right now. Hopefully, I can stay here until I finish this draft. (I'm about three quarters of the way done. So maybe by this time next month I'll be doing a happy dance.) 

Anyone else find themselves in this type of writing loop? 



Be sure to hop over to Monday's post and enter the Back to School Giveaway for your chance to win one of three gift cards.

22 comments:

  1. Hehe, writing is hard. Right now I'm in an "editing is hard" phase...but I'm soooo cloooose to being finiiiiished. Here's to staying on on top 'till draft 1 is done!

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  2. Hopefully you break the loop this month!

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  3. Dove chocolate? I'll have to try that. I know you'll make it and it will be totally awesome, as usual.

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    1. Once you try Dove, you'll have a hard time eating other chocolates.

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  4. Thank God you have the dove chocolates on standby. Actually, every first draft I have to coddle myself and say the following "you're going to come back and edit. You're going to come back and edit." I say this for two reasons. The first-the writing and grammar is CRAZY. The second-the further along I write, the more I discover about my character, the story, what's happening and I think, well, wait, now I have to go back and change part of the begining. And what do I say to myself? "You're going to come back and edit." As long as you come back. That's the most difficult part. Just push through it. Push, push, push through it! And remember: you're going to come back and edit.

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    1. Oh yes! I'm saying this a lot. Although, I have jumped back to earlier scenes to a fix a few details.

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  5. My loop usually involves me looking back over an earlier chapter, seeing how much more terrible it is than I remembered, get depressed for an evening, and then jump right back into the manuscript again as if nothing happened. Strange, but that's just how I operate.

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    1. At least you come back and keep going. That's the important part.

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  6. I'm working with an amazing editor right now who is super positive, but it's a great lesson on how HARD writing can be even when you love it and your story is working. Deadlines keep me from falling into the loop, or I'd be right there.

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    1. That's wonderful! I loved working with my editors, too. Even though writing is hard, it's nice to have feedback to work off of.

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  7. I KNOW this cycle! :-D I moan all the time about how hard writing is. I was just moaning about how hard editing was, too. But does it ever feel good when the damn thing gets published!

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    1. I'm glad I'm not alone, and it is an amazing feeling when the book gets published. =)

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  8. Yes I know this cycle too! This writing business is a roller-coaster of emotions. Chocolate can help though! Thanks for visiting my blog and your encouraging words.

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    1. It certainly is a roller-coaster of emotions. Thanks for stopping by. =)

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  9. All the time! But it never stops because inner-editor won't let it :)

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  10. Oh yeah. I think it's part of the creative process. There are always highs and lows. When I heard someone refer to "the murky middle" in a book, I felt like I wasn't alone at last! The end isn't so hard for me and neither is the beginning. The middle is where things get REALLY tough because that's where you have to build the conflict, have the dark moment, and set it up for a resolution later.

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    1. This is so true. It's usually the middle of a first draft that is the hardest to write.

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  11. I know all about that cycle. Good to hear you're in the good phase at the moment, though. But I think, to progress with our writing, we need to go through all three phases reasonably regularly :-)

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    1. I'm glad I'm not alone. I remind myself of this whenever I get frustrated with my progress.

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