Musing on whatever happened to that woman in my expletive first draft ? #iPPP
Yesterday, I took on a cleaning project and unearthed lots of forgotten things.
Such as this…
A novel.
One hundred eighty some pages of a shitty first draft (as Anne Lamott so eloquently puts it).
Before I started writing a column each week, before I got regular freelance work, if I woke up late at night and couldn’t sleep, I wrote on this shitty first draft.
And finding these chapters, I started to remember.
1. People actually critiqued them.
I went to Harriette Austin’s UGA Continuing Education class.
Members would volunteer to read their work and then the group would discuss. Harriette had two rules: no graphic sex and no cruelty to animals.
Easy for me because I was basically writing my life — in fiction.
My heart beat out of my chest the first time I read aloud.
People laughed. In the right places.
That was a huge. As a writer, we never hear laughter. We hear nice people saying they laughed after reading something we wrote, but to hear laughs over something I had written.
Cool.
But the book was still very much shitty-first-draft bad.
Even worse, I didn’t know anything about the structure of a novel. I only knew that I liked to write in the quiet pitch of night and that hearing people laugh at something from my head onto paper was colored sprinkles on top.
* * *
Life got busier and the drive to Athens harder to make. And Harriette’s health began to fail.
2. Joined my first official writer’s group.
This group had been meeting a while. I went that first Saturday and handed out my work.
This prologue was AWESOME.
They didn’t think so. They said (among other things):
* Prologues don’t sell.
* Prologues from child’s point-of-view really don’t sell.
* My non-selling, from a child’s point-of-view prologue was shitty.
Devestated, I stiffen my upper lip and vowed never to let anyone read my work again.
Then I came back next month with other pages of the woman’s story and they liked them.
Looking over these pages yesterday, I miss her.
I missed writing the shitty first draft of her story.
What changed?
3. I learned about shitty first drafts.
I learned how much I didn’t know.
This time I would write in first person. Even though my critique group said first person won’t sell.
I know about things such as tension, character development, a twist a third of the way through — all building to a climax. Climax as in a non-graphic, literary resolution.
I could fix some of the newbie mistakes. Such as….
* Don’t start with character asleep. (She was asleep at the beginning of each chapter.)
* DEATH TO ADVERBS. I can only promise to try.
* Don’t describe main character by looking in mirror.
Oops, oops and double oops.
4. Find the time to write her story.
I belong to another very talented, very supported critique group.
I want to start this PETA-loving, no-porn story again…..help.
Do you have a story that you’ve put down, almost forgotten about? What made you stop writing?
Of course I do. I have two. Pine, my first book that went through 8 rewrites (I’m still brainstorming how to save it) and Rowans Fountain-an American Indian Pirate Vampire Novel. (Yea, you read that right.)
Pine is very near and dear to me, based loosely on my grandmothers life. I have some timeline issues and just parts of the story that just irk me. And I cant decide if I want to keep it in the past (1934-1939,) or if I want to move it into the near future. Still deciding.
Rowans Fountain…well I started Rowen during Nanwrimo. Got about 20k and two weeks into Nano, I decided that the story was too history rich for the short span of time that I had for Nano.. so I tabled Rowan and Brasen Night-Revelation was born. I some how kicked out 50K words in remaining two week. I have no idea where she came from, but I am SO glad she picked me to write her.
So.. yes, you need to start writing that book again. Its not a race..take your time. Change it all to first person. You will have to revise it anyway. You are all set up for it..got your writing garage and everything! You have nothing to lose.
Ginger, a big smooch to you from a 1000 miles away. I don’t know how you do it. Anyone who writes a novel, much less gets one published. The whole thing — the talent and time involved staggers me. But I do love creating a world. Creating people that exist in that world. I need to get more disciplined about doing that.
Not published yet. I seriously need to get disciplined. I was freaking out 2 weekends ago because I don’t have my own writing area.(I LAY on my bed or couch and write cuz my legs go numb if I sit to long..) When I wrote Brasen, I was unemployed and not sleeping at night, so instead of watching the clock, I decided to use the time productively. It was awesome– the quiet of the night, the dark. So, here I am now, working full time which means no night writing for me anymore. I ran around like a lunatic trying to find stuff to cover my windows with and recreate night. I definitely need a new plan.
The more you write the more the ideas come. I have had the pleasure of witnessing my friend write her first book and watching her develop all the writing traits.. the self doubt, the excitement of a breakthrough…and the new ideas that hit out of no where.
So don’t fear it, and don’t stand amazed (Isn’t that from Romeo and Juliet?) I bet if you added up your word count in these daily blogs of yours, you would be more than 1/2 way there, if not more. You are already doing it!! Just pick up one page a day… make that your goal. You SO got this!!
Your first drafts look pretty damn good to me! You had me squinting at the pics, trying to read the stories. I was getting pulled in! I hope you keep pursuing your novel. Cuz that would be awesome.
Are you by any chance an agent Jen?
I am really not a writer at all. But, one of my goals is to maybe write a cute children’s story for each of my kids-something “starring” them. Maybe someday before they’re too old to enjoy them 🙂
Today, I saw something ( a car, bus or quirky vehicle) and thought that would be a great character for a child’s book. Your children would love it. Sounds like a great idea.
A writer finagles a way to incorporate photos. That’s a true talent, Jamie! 😉
Thanks for joining in!
Thanks Liz – I look forward to looking thru everyone’s photos on Wednesday. And yes, I can finagle with the best of them.
I think? We are soul sisters.
I’m reading Bird by Bird right now and I, too, love my shitty first draft. And adverbs.
Bird by Bird is a wonderful inspiring book. Can’t wait read yours….