From rough draft to first draft…by the numbers.

A little peak behind the curtain here. ��I just finished the first draft of my 2014 book, Life After Joe. ��As an exercise I wanted to see the difference between the two drafts (I tend to follow this schedule: rough draft, edit, first draft, notes, professional edit, final draft). ��The biggest changes will usually occur between the rough and first drafts…

1. ��Picked a title! ��Going into the first draft, I was working with the titles Have You Met Joe?, 213 Days of Joe or the super generic Road Trip. ��In the back of my head, ‘Have You Met Joe?’ sounded too much like a catch phrase from HIMYM’s ‘Have you met Ted?’ ��The days thing seemed too similar to Room 702, and I didn’t want two titles with numbers in them (that makes sense in my mind). ��I’m not sure when ‘Life After Joe’ popped on the scene, but I’ve grown to really like it and can’t see it changing.

2. ��Added a bunch of words. ��I finished the rough draft, knowing and specifically leaving room to add additional chapters. ��I went from 84,582 to 99,123 words for a net gain of 14,541. ��The final version will most likely hold steady, but I’m prepared to cut an additional 5K if needed.

3. ��Went crazy with names. ��The supporting romantic interest went from one to another to a final. ��About half way through editing, I realized that ALMOST ALL MY CHARACTERS HAD FOUR LETTER NAMES. ��Even worse, one family was set upon by the letter J. ��Obviously, changes were necessary.

4. ��Removing a plot device that went nowhere (mostly because I was lazy). ��I had started out each chapter with the date, location and how many miles traveled. ��The reality is that 1) that’s incredibly difficult to maintain (especially for a character traveling all over the United States) and 2) I read a book that was written in a more stream of conscious style and decided it was a better fit.

As the book goes out to friends and other readers, I’m excited to hear their feedback! ��Now, if only I could decided on a cover image.