Monday 4 July 2011

The First Draft



So on Saturday I did the first read through of the first draft of my crime novel. It was an amazing feeling just seeing it printed out. I could visibly see I had achieved something.

What did I find? I found some of it was okay. Some of it needs work. There were plot holes and time line errors. I even found one of the characters had his name changed half way through. But, behind all the flaws I can see the story. It's there. Like a stone in the rough waiting to be chipped out. I have actually written a novel. One that needs a lot of work but it's there.

What am I doing now? I'm doing the second read through but this time with a pencil in my hand. (I like working with a pencil) I'm making small edit notes on the manuscript itself plus I have a notepad where I'm making story line notes and another sheet of paper where I'm writing down the time line as I read. So far the time line for the first day is ok but I know it goes a bit squiffy later.

I'm really excited by this and I'm enjoying the process. I can't promise I will be saying that in a couple of weeks but so far, it's great!





14 comments:

  1. I'm at the same point. I did my first read through of a rough draft this weekend. I found name changes, hair color changes and a whole hell of a lot of typos. Like you I'll be going in with my red pen and making notes, changes and additions. Woo! Yay us! :D

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  2. Congratulations! It is a wonderful feeling knowing that you completed a novel. Good luck with the read through and the editing.

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  3. What an exciting milestone! You are an inspiration to me, Rebecca!

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  4. I love the feeing of a pile of freshly printed paper. It's so much more real than looking at it on screen.

    Enjoy the next stage of the process!

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  5. Wonderful! It's a great accomplishment. You should feel proud!

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  6. Sounds like you're making progress. There's nothing quite like a print-out to help us see all the stuff that's not obvious onscreen.

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  7. I'm so glad you're enjoying it at the moment. Want to do mine when you're finished!?

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  8. Nice!

    When I finished my first draft, I used what I wrote to find the stuff I really liked and built the foundation with it. Then I rewrote the entire thing. When that was done, I reread everything again to pick up where things went squiffy. Now I'm revising, and it's a lot less painful, because I know (and can see) how every stage has improved the story.

    ^_^

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  9. Well done for getting this far. The next bit will be even more rewarding because you'll see a perfect crystal emerging as each facet is shaved and polished. Enjoy!

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  10. Congratulations! I applaud you for holding off on the pencil till you're second read through. I usually start tearing apart my stuff from the beginning.

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  11. Congratulations! :-)

    It's great that the story shines through; you must be well on the way.

    Good luck and much courage, strength, perseverance and fun with the next stages. :-)

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  12. Congratulations! I'm in the revision stage too. It's really tough and awful at times, and really wonderful too. I'm excited that I have a whole novel to work with . . . even if I need to replace large chunks.
    Keep writing/revising daily and soon, you'll have an even stronger finished novel!

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  13. Congrats on finishing. What a great feeling!

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  14. MBee - It's funny how things change halfway through isn't it. I didn't think it would happen. I expected to remember the people I had created. Good luck with the second read through!

    Murees - Thank you. It is a wonderful feeling.

    Thank you Astrid!

    Annalisa - Thank you. I love looking at it all printed out in it's freshly printed form. Computers are great for the writing, but I love the feel of it in my hands.

    India - Thank you. I feel really proud of myself. I can only imagine how I will feel when I get to the end of the second draft!

    J.L - You're right. I imagine I would have missed a lot more if I had attempted to do a read through on the screen.

    Sarah - You can do it!

    Misha - It's a lot of work isn't it? I feel a sense of achievement getting this far, but I can see a long road ahead as well. I'm determined to get there though!

    Rosalind - Thank you. I'm hoping I can carefully get the story out without breaking it!

    Jenny - It wasn't easy. I did it though and I'm glad I did. Now I have pencil in hand!

    K.C - Thank you. I can see it. I just have to try and get it out without breaking the entire thing!

    Tyrean - Thank you. It's a long old process isn't it. I'm determined to do it though. Wishing you lots of luck with yours.

    Susan - Thank you. It certainly is!

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