How to Survive A First Draft

[deliasherman]

Yesterday, a Young Relative who is writing a novel sent ellen_kushner  and me a heartfelt plea for advice.  She'd been going along swimmingly, she wrote, sailing through words and pages and scenes, using "My Shitty First Draft" for a mantra when her internal editor got fractious, pretty much making it up as she went along.  And then she was asked to write a

Comments

[deakat]

Unsolicited, but much appreciated. I'll be saving this, with a big post-it note over my desk to remind me to read it whenever I'm on the verge of deleting a work that I am certain (at the time) should never see the light of day.

[shweta_narayan]

This is, of course, wonderful :)

But entirely apart from that I get the biggest grin from it, because I can almost hear you saying it.

[deliasherman]

*grin*

[stephanieburgis]

This is very timely for me to read. Thanks so much for posting it! I'm bookmarking it for future reminders.

[ext_337035]

Get out of my mind!

Actually no, I take that back. You can stay, because you are nice and filled with helpful advice, like what you have written here. Even if it is somewhat uncannily well-timed, in my case.

Dallas

Well, she was your first Clarion teacher

[ellen_kushner]

The teaching comes when the student is ready, Dallas.

Or so it says in my handy dandy mystical guidebook.

[deliasherman]

Well, if I hadn't been in your mind, I wouldn't have known you needed me to post it, would I?

[ext_337035]

I'm gonna have to get me one of those mystical guidebooks; do they come in a science fiction version?

The crazy thing is I beat the NaNoWriMo word-count goal by a week, and have struggled ever since to continue the forward motion. I think I have the same thing you do, Delia, with the editing of yesterday's output, which I have reverted to, now that the pressure is off. It may also have to do with the radical change in POV and register that I decided part two needed.

Per your advice, however, I shall continue with the flinging of words against the wall of the page, and see what sticks.

PS Thank you for opening that branch office in my mind. Anytime you care to issue memos of inspiration, please feel free...

[_stranger_here]

Thank you for this -- love it.