In the writing world, there is always this idea that you’re either a planner or a pantser. Sometimes, it is hard to distinguish whether you are one or the other.
You can be both. In fact, I’d advise you to be both.
When you have an idea, and I mean the early kernels of a story, it can be difficult to really grasp the full extent of an idea and the story it can become. If you don’t know whether your MC is going to survive, or if he/she gets their love interest, be the pantser you know you can be and see where the story goes.
We’ll call this Draft Zero.
In Draft Zero, anything can happen. Your only aim is to understand your story. Don’t worry about anything else. Just get the words out. And if the words aren’t coming? Free write, whether it’s related to the story or not, sometimes it’s good to get the creative mind working. And if that doesn’t work, go for a walk or read a book. We both know that TBR list isn’t getting any smaller, so you might as well make a dent in it. Then come back and try again.
Now let’s say you’ve finished Draft Zero, if you haven’t, don’t worry. You’re probably experiencing some mixed feelings about your writing. You’re excited that you finally finished the story.
*cheers and claps for you*
Well done! You have every right to feel this way. What you have done is something not everyone can do, and you did it. The other feeling you probably have is once you decided to read what your wrote.
“Did I really write that?”
“Oh, gosh that’s shocking.”
“It’s so ugly.”
Relax. It’s supposed to suck. It is Draft Zero after all.
You have a rough story, with all the hideous clichés and the poor grammar included. Don’t fret, because this is when you can become the planner.
Take what you’ve got and read it through, or go from memory if you that’s how you work. I find it difficult to read through long lengths of my writing, but sometimes you’ve got to eat that proverbial bullet and read what you wrote. Once you’ve done that, write it again.
In Draft Zero, you explored your characters and the world in a hideous fashion. You know them better now. Yes, your MC by this point is tired of having to relive the same traumatic inciting moment that is the beginning, but it makes them stronger characters, but most importantly, it makes you, the writer stronger.
People always say write, write, and write some more. It’s tiring, and trying to balance all these character feels…. ugh *yawn* It’s hard thing to do, and you shouldn’t feel discouraged by the hard work, because it is actually the fun part.
Draft Zero is now your very rough outline. You don’t have to follow it. I’ve wrote several drafts of the same novel, each one differing that little more. The important thing is to rewrite. See what else you’ve got inside you. Would your MC fair better in a fight if they’ve had any previous training to defend their self? Add that in. Does your love interest need to get hurt for the MC to care about them more? Add that in too.
And if you really hate what you wrote, turn to paper and jot things down, sometimes the mind can focus and see the bigger picture on paper rather than a screen.
I follow Susan Dennard’s lead with ‘Cookie-Scenes’. Reading her advice, helped me out a lot. So, go and check out her website and see what it can offer you.
I promise, even though writing is hard (really hard), it’s worth it when you finally get your story right, and it can be months or years before that happens. The most important thing to do is: Don’t Give Up!
Creative Babblings 