Is there anything quite as beautiful as writing the first draft of a story?
Every moment is primed with intrigue, wonder, and mystery.
You just paint everything on the metaphorical canvass as you see it in your mind’s eye. Ideas pour forth from you like a soda fountain filled with Mentos
You pat yourself on the back for every clever line, every twist and turn, every unique character.
Then, once the dust has settled, you must look back on your writing….
And realize that literally everything is horrible.
There are plot-holes everywhere, nobody’s motivation makes sense, the action is either too slow or too fast, the plot is too predictable or disjointed. The list goes on and on.
The worst part is realizing you’re actually going to have to fix this crap.
All it takes for your hard work to be torn asunder is the word “why.”
Why didn’t they just do this? Why didn’t they do that? Why didn’t he ask her this? Why didn’t she stay at home instead?
You will have to answer these questions and many, many more 😀
Not only that, but you may have to remove some of your favorite sequences in order for the new continuity to make sense. That means hacking away at that razor sharp dialogue and those gorgeous descriptions, leading you to meander down a road rife with uncertainty.
Well…you could ask someone to be your beta reader and get their opinion, but then they may question your literary genius.
You can’t have that.
But really there’s nothing for it.
It’s just another stumbling block on the road to success, or, as is often the case with writing, another mine in a minefield of never-ending despair and disappointment.
Perhaps in between drafts you should take a break. Let it sit for a while and then come back to it when it’s had time to cool. Then you can turn your keen eye to the festering pile of dung that is your first draft with a clear perspective and can dispose of it accordingly.
Regardless, I think this may be one of the hardest parts of writing. Besides… everything else.
