Getting through a first draft

Get through a draft as quickly as possible. Hard to know the shape of the thing until you have a draft…when I wrote the last page of my first draft of Lincoln’s Melancholy I thought, Oh, shit, now I get the shape of this. But I had wasted years…writing and re-writing the first third to first half. The old writer’s rule applies: Have the courage to write badly. ~ Joshua Wolf Shenk

I’ve been working on a project that I really like, but can never get past the first section. I have changed the setting a few times, and I try to start again when the scenes all end up being pretty much the same. Basically, I’m stuck in first gear, and I can’t just get through a first draft, then clean up what I want later.

Since I’m usually busy with everything else in life and can no longer pay attention to the important writing stuff (seriously, I never have quality time with my computer anymore) I was glad that a cold snuck up on me and kept me home today. I did two sprints and worked on the outline.

Of course the original idea makes me want to jump in and start writing, but I’ve figured out the hard way that it has to settle. Different elements of the story jumped up in my head when I least expected it, so now I have a better grasp of where I want the plot to go.

Bottom line: don’t waste a bunch of time on the first part of the book. The book will change as you go, at least it does for me. By the time you get to the nitty gritty in the middle, you understand what the story is a bit better. When you’re tired and dragging yourself across the finish line of the first draft, you can go back and write the book how you think it really should go. At least with a first draft, you’ve got material to work with – otherwise, you’re punching in ideas and getting no where. Things are going to change too much in first gear.

Writing in stressful times

April started off okay. We took a trip to York, and spent a nice day in town when the weather was very un-English like. Then things got a little crazy.

Work has started to get really stressful for me. One Monday morning, when I was motivated to keep working on a current project, I’d had plenty of rest, and was ready to tackle my writing whenever I had a spare minute, my colleague abruptly left.

I have been left to run the library with various cover staff every day after. This has left me with chronic heartburn, something I use to have when I was stressed out in Florida several years back, so I’m not really handling this change very well. In actuality, I’m sick, and I’m not one to say I’m sick unless I really am. I’m taking Nexium again, which I haven’t taken in six years or so, and it’s still not keeping my stomach feeling 100% normal. There’s a whole slew of worry that I have now. I’m unable to relax and wind down, so I become listless and frustrated.

Having my mind and body preoccupied with trying to handle everything has left writing on a complete back burner. However, it really should be my first go-to option for stress relief. Healthline recommends that in times of stress, “Do something that you enjoy, whether it’s playing a musical instrument, making pottery, woodworking, gardening, or another hobby that helps take you away from day-to-day stressors.” Writing certainly falls under that category.

So as part of my goal to curb stress and looking forward to what I want to accomplish this year, I’m making more lists. The list includes the usual such as getting edits done, having Steve make some book covers for me, revamping my author page, and doing some promotional book tours.

Since I get distracted so easily, and it take a while to recuperate when I’ve been social (and even more so when I have to be overly social) I find it extremely difficult to get in a comfortable headspace to write. But, in the midst of the world trying to get you down, keeping the things most important to you in mind. It helps maintain a good perspective of what you really want to do each day when life gets in the way.