6.17.14 - On Shitty First Drafts

This is one of my favorite quotes, because it is so very true. I know writers who are done with their work when they type The End, but for the vast majority of us, The End means the real work is just beginning. 

Which is why I was reluctant to send pages north. Of course, yesterday I realized I needed to make changes to one of the chapters I'd sent. And so it goes - note to editor, changes made in manuscript, the damn autopsy chapter finally written, and the sudden realization that now, with this "tweak" -- because it wasn't as big of a change as I thought work wise -- the book has altered tremendously, in ways I don’t even understand yet.

It’s days like today I enjoy writing so much, when a story twists in on itself, when something unexpected happens. This is also why I don't like outlining. I like to write shitty first drafts. I like to make mistakes, to realize I've given too much information, that it would be best to pull back, layer in what I know later. I can't imagine doing it all right the first time. 

1000 net today, plus finished the critique of a dear friend’s manuscript, and did a nice interview with a magazine here in town. Listened to a little Rachmaninoff, read some on A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES during my lunch break. Talked to BFF and was encouraged to get over myself and write the damn scene already. (Which I did, so there.) Off to see Malificent with the DH tonight, which means... popcorn for dinner! 

Also, Catherine has a giveaway for 5 advanced reader copies of her new Savich and Sherlock book, POWER PLAY. It's a stunner!  Enter here.