If I could just do it right the first time...

I am not a one-draft writer. I’ve read about a bunch of one-draft writers, and I even personally know a couple, and I’ve always been jealous of them. One-draft writers finish the first draft of a book, then immediately turn it in. Sounds nice, huh? No weeks spent rewriting the rough draft. No passing it back and forth to your CP, who tells you exactly where and how badly it sucks. But that’s more fantasy than reality.

The truth is that most one-draft writers edit as they write, so that by the time they finish that first draft, most of the book has already been reread and edited at least once, and possibly several times. Still, sounds pretty good, right? And I’ve been told a couple of times that maybe I could be this one-draft writer, if I would slow down my rough drafts and edit as I go. But that doesn’t work for me, and here’s why…

Reason the first: If I spend more than one day drafting a single chapter (or scene), I lose perspective on the pacing. It starts to feel like it’s dragging, whether or not it is. To maintain momentum and perspective, I have to write that first draft as quickly as I can, while the words are flowing. Stopping to edit kills the flow, and the words stop coming of their own volition. Which means I have to drag them out one at a time, which makes me hate the words, and the words hate me.

That does not make for a happy time.

Reason the second: Most of my detail work comes in the second and third drafts. This is because in subsequent drafts, I already know the story, so I’m not rushing to get it on the page, and there’s finally enough time and energy for me to concentrate on the emotion and the setting. Not to mention the snappy dialogue.

That’s right. Most of the visceral emotion (the parts people tell me made them cry, or scream, or hug the book) isn’t layered in until the second draft, or later. Same for most of the funny bits. Ethan and Jace’s banter. Tod’s quips. Most of those aren’t in the rough draft. (The exception is Sabine, whose dialogue is harder to stop than it is to start.) Which is why I get nervous when my editor asks me to send in a few early chapters for the copy writer (or any of the zillion other people who need to get a feel for the voice and tone of the book). Those early chapters don’t reflect the final, polished version. Or even the unedited version I’ll turn in to my editor, on the due date, because I need the perspective that comes from having written the entire story in order to fine-tune the tone and dialogue.

What does this mean, in practical terms? It means that I have to finish each book at least a week or two before the deadline, in order to have time to rewrite and fine-tune. No up-to-the-minute drafting for Rachel.

***

In other news, it took me forever, but I finally found another non-spoilery Tod teaser. Seriously, he has a lot of good dialogue (IMO) in If I Die, but most of it is very spoilerific. So, here’s what I found:

 

“You call that a rescue?”

Tod frowned. “You don’t?”

“That aide was about to haul me out of the room!” I pulled Lydia’s robe off in several angry movements, surprised to see that my hands were still shaking from the close call.

“It’s more fun when you’re almost caught.”

“That’s not almost. I was caught.” As evidenced by the remnants of panicked adrenaline still burning in my veins.

“Well, now you’re un-caught. And for the record, you’re the second chick I’ve snatched from the jaws of the mental health industry tonight.” His eyes shined in the dying light, and I couldn’t resist a small smile. Yes, I’d been caught and nearly suffered a fatal aneurysm from the shock—several days early, by my count—but it was over now, and I’d gotten what I needed.

“So, you what? Just blinked us both out of there? So that aide saw us disappear?”

Tod’s brows rose. “What kind of amateur do you think I am? He only saw you disappear. He never saw me at all.”
 

Also, you guys sent in a bunch of questions for Tod yesterday, and he’ll be answering a few of them on the Soul Screamers Facebook page later today. After that, I’ll compile them here and for the extras page of my website. Some of the questions are hilarious. One lady proposed marriage to Tod via the Q&A form, and another asked for his phone number. The most common questions by far were one variation or another of “Are you in love with Kaylee?” and “Why do you always show up when Nash and Kaylee least want to be bothered?”

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for Tod in the Crushathon (for some reason, I keep typing “crust” instead of “crush”) and who submitted a question for him to answer!