Author James Michener said, “I’m
not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.”
Writing the Draft
A writer can
feel about a blank page of paper or computer screen the way an artist may feel
about a blank canvas: stymied or hesitant to start. The way an artist gets
going is to make a first stroke. Notice I didn’t say make “the” first stroke,
but “a” first stroke. Write anything, even if it’s something like “I haven’t
got a clue what to call this book, but I’ll figure it out eventually.” It’s
more important to get your fingers typing or writing than to insist that what
you write be perfect the first time (it likely won’t be).
It’s also
best if you just write and keep on writing, without stopping to reread and edit
what you’ve written, as tempting as that is. You can use up a lot of time and
energy by writing, rereading, and editing the sentence or paragraph or chapter
you just wrote (perhaps over and over). During the first creative writing
course I took a few decades back, we had to read something we wrote aloud to
the class. One participant read the first chapter of the book he was writing.
It was brilliant, engaging, and well crafted. We enjoyed it so much that we begged
him to read the second chapter to us at the next class. He admitted he had only
the one chapter—and that he’d been working on it for two years. Two years! At
that rate he’s probably still not finished.
Get your
first draft written then focus on
needed edits and revisions. Which leads me to…
The Best Way
- After you finish your first draft,
print it out. You may want to double-space it first, if you believe you
may need or prefer to have the extra space to make notes.
- Put the draft aside for one
week. I’m serious. Mark a time
on your calendar to work on your draft the following week and go do
something else. If you happen to think of something to include or change,
make a note on a piece of paper or a computer document, but DO NOT work on
your draft.
- It’s now a week later and time
to look at your draft. Find a place that’s comfortable, quiet, and where
you can work as uninterrupted as possible or feasible.
- Get your draft copy and a pen
or pencil and eraser.
- Read your draft aloud.
I cannot emphasize enough how important and helpful doing this is. It
makes a real difference. You need to hear how what you wrote sounds…
because that’s how readers will hear it in the movie in their minds when
they read your book. Reading your draft aloud—and not at a fast pace—not only lets you hear how what you’ve
written sounds, but also brings typos, spacing, and other issues to your
attention. You want to wear your editor hat, not your look-what-I-did!-author
hat for this read-through.
- Makes notes on the pages and
on the backs of the pages. Pay attention to indents, punctuation, content
organization, and clarity, as well as creative aspects of what you’ve
written. This may take more than one period of time to complete. Allow for
this, but stay committed.
- Once you’ve done this process
all the way through your manuscript, make the changes and revisions. This also
may take more than one period of time to complete. Allow for this, but
stay committed.
- Repeat this process for each
revision until you feel it’s time to get either a reader you trust to read
it and comment or get a developmental evaluation (critique) from someone
who knows how to do this. Or you may feel it’s time to use the services of
a developmental editor (or proofreader—if you’re genuinely confident about your technical skills) to polish it
and or bring your attention to anything you may need to be aware of.
Whichever one of these next steps you take, you’ll need to repeat the process
for going through your revised draft.
- Once you feel your draft is a
final one, after you’ve made your latest revisions and tweaks, let your
proofreader or editor proofread it one more time. Too often I have self-published
clients who skip this step, only to see “oopsies” that could have been
taken care of before the book went into print.
A few other
tips that will benefit you are…
Work on
your manuscript every day (or at least 5-6 days a week), even if one hour is
all you have that day. If all you have is five minutes a day, use it. You can
find a number of authors who’ve shared that this daily incremental writing
pattern is how they got their books written. An hour (or five minutes) a day
gets it written faster than zero minutes of writing a day.
Take needed
breaks! Writing, proofreading, and revising use brain energy. If you feel your
energy flagging, pause for a refresher break or start again the next day.
What Kind of Editing Will You
Need?
Eventually,
every manuscript needs an editor’s eyes. Learn more about which services will
assist you and your manuscript best at
Are you a
self-published author (or publishing-house author) who needs or wants your book
reviewed and reviews published?
Self-Published
Authors Book Review Service
I wish
you the best with your writing and process.
Joyce
Shafer
Services
for Writers
No comments:
Post a Comment