Drafting Nita Dodd
As we all know, it takes me forever to write a book. That’s because I don’t know what the story is until I see what I’ve written. And then I think about it. And then I write another draft to add what I’ve thought about. And then I look at the shape of it and realize that it has no shape, so I start thinking about antagonists. And other stuff comes up. And I rewrite it again. And then . . .
Well, you get the drift.
If you go here, you’ll find a page with links to three of the early drafts of the first scene of The Devil in Nita Dodd.
The first one is just getting something down on paper.
The second one is slowing down and adding some significant detail.
The third one is an attempt at antagonist-based structure. It fails, but it’s better than the first two.
That’s really the key to drafting. It doesn’t matter if the newest draft is good, it just has to be better than the last one. And then the next one has to be better than that one . . .
It’s a process.
The post Drafting Nita Dodd appeared first on Argh Ink.
newest »
Thank you so much for this glimpse into your creative process. I liked seeing how the characters got fleshed out and became more interesting with each draft. And how the story background was painted a little bit more with each subsequent writing. It's like a bare Christmas tree being decorated layer by layer (bare tree, lights, Christmas balls and decorations, then garland/tinsel/snow). Each pass making it more and more the final finished product. Appreciate you sharing it. I can't wait to read the finished book.
