A Full First Draft
Hey,
Well, I did it. I managed to write an entire novel in a first rough draft. Before I start the process of rewriting and spiral into a freak out that's been largely waiting to happen since I finished on Sunday, I thought I'd bring myself back into perspective by looking at how far I have come. The entire novel, as it sits now, tallies at a total of 19 chapters, 109 pages, and 72,466 total words. That's a lot.
When I started to seriously get going on this draft in mid-August, early September, I wasn't sure I'd get this far. I am hoping by October to have a bound and fairly readable version to hand over at the Convention---as promised and planned. Considering that I do have a full first draft to work from that should be doable, yes?
I learned a lot doing this. I learned how hard it is to write, even when you would rather pig out and veg in front of the TV or play video games or sleep or do ANYTHING else that isn't writing. As much as it is having imagination and talent, it's also just strapping yourself into your chair and DOING the work. Oddly, the strange anxiety that bubbled inside always went away AFTER clicking print. Then, I could veg a little and watch something and relax somewhat.
I learned that it's hard to maintain a story's progression in a natural way, but I'm hoping as I go back through now that the foundation there will give me the chance to improve on it and make it a tighter story. I also found that it kind of morphed over time in its own way to meld the story to what was natural all on its own. A song I had meant to use once kept cropping up again and again. A phrase would slip back into the narrative. I'm hopeful that means I was doing something right while working on this beast.
I had a rough outline of what I wanted to have happen and how it should happen, and as I went along, those pieces fell into place naturally, too. I found when I didn't fight with the story or try to force things, moments I wanted to happen at certain points would merely happen elsewhere. Other things surprised me. Oddly, knowing the plot and what would happen didn't stop that. I would find myself, at the end of a chapter, scratching my head as to how this or that could have possibly happened.
The characters also became more and more like real people. I've carried them now with me for over a year, and the good thing about doing a rewrite is being able to stay with them all that much longer. I feel deeply for them, even though they started as rough sketches as all characters do. They're real and their sorrow is mine. What was a simple story idea has overtime shifted into a story more about love than it is about horror. Forgiveness also crops up time and time again, and really, that's the whole thing in a nutshell. Forgiving and not forgiving has consequences.
Most of all, what I learned is that I CAN do this. I am certain that I will finish a rewrite--possibly two or three more drafts before October! I also know that it'll take hard work, the same perseverance, and a no quit attitude when it comes time to getting this novel published. I also know that I want to be the author of any screen play version, so once I get done with the novel, well, we kind of get to start over. A writer's work is much like a woman's: it is never done. Which means, well, I best get to work, right?
Far Away Eyes