![]() ![]() But in the end, trust the process, learn in the interim, and focus on making your book the best it can be, rather than speeding full steam ahead. I feel the pressure to arrive at that finish line too. Yes, I’d like to finish and get my books published as fast as possible. Some people will be faster than average, others slower, and some right on whatever “average” it takes. There is no magic number of years or magic amount of time. (Disclaimer: obviously if you’re under contract to meet a certain deadline, this isn’t exactly true, but for most of us out there, this mindset holds up.) You’ve got to throw aside any expectations or perceived “right” timeline for completing your book. In my reflection to help me overcome these problems, I’ve come to recognize four crucial pieces of perspective on rough drafts that are worthy of sharing with others.įirst, keep in mind that there is no timeline for “finishing” your book. Part of my stumbling through writing this particular novel involved grappling with my mental blocks. I expect myself to write like I did when I was a teenager and wasn’t bogged down with all I’ve learned about writing as a business.Īs I’ve floundered my way through the rough draft of The Myth-Keepers Book 1, I’ve come to realize the ways that I’m letting my expectations and perfectionism stifle me. I expect my outline to stay firm and not waver. In short, I struggle with writing rough drafts nowadays because I’m impatient with my work and with myself. (The only exception to that are the Whitman Court books, which are only 20,000 words in length and take a month or two to write.) Since Our Company of Fools,every attempted rough draft has either been abandoned or taken at least a year to finish. Considering what people might think of a book in the future started to paralyze me when trying to write a new story, even though I never, even to this day, let another soul read my rough drafts. As my knowledge of the writing craft and publishing industry grew, so, too, did my awareness of phantom readers. In addition to losing steam and consistency, my perfectionism caught up with me as I started to be very future-minded, considering public perception of a book in ways I used to not worry as much about. ![]() I lost what felt like a rough-draft-writing superpower when my writing habits tapered off during college. A 100,000 word draft took me an average of 3 months to write, and the first draft of Our Company of Fools was the climax of that era, when I wrote 50,000+ words in only 19 days. I knew editing and revision would refine the word vomit salad of my earliest draft and just kept pushing through whatever story problems the draft held. I was fast at writing and didn’t let the lack of quality didn’t trip me up. Back in the day, I used to crank out drafts with the speed and quality of Marvel’s recent CGI jobs. This is a good lesson, albeit a humbling one. As with pitching and facing rejections, trying to write the first draft of a novel is teaching me patience, yet again. Specifically, writing a rough draft of a brand new story. And right now, that is the drafting process. But it certainly feels like whatever part of the writing process I’m focused on does give me the most struggle. After all, if I really disliked writing, I surely wouldn’t stick with it. Okay, maybe that second point is a little dramatic. Second, I really hate whatever stage of the writing process I’m currently in. First, patience seems to be a defining virtue in this season of my career. ![]() I’m slowly realizing two very true things about myself as a writer.
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