After the First Draft

Stephen King will tell you to get that first draft done and then step away. Give it time to marinate. To gel. To set. And then go back and edit ruthlessly.

I was so proud of myself! I finished my first draft of EPITAPH 4, and I thought I'd done pretty well for myself! Sure, there were some areas that needed polishing, but this book came so fast, it was going to be easy-peasy. HAH!

I set it aside, waiting to hear back from my fact checker and going on about my daily life, except as an author, you're always writing in your head. Funny, I should have been forewarned when my subconscious wasn't ready to start in on the next project. That's normally what happens when I finish a book, I can't wait to start on the next one. Oh, I have ideas. I have two, maybe three more brothers whose stories need to be written in this series, and I have general ideas, but no characters speaking to me. Maybe that's because THIS story isn't done.

As I lay awake in bed the other day, reviewing what I'd written mentally, I realized I'd left some VERY IMPORTANT STUFF out of my story. Stuff that was going to change that "perfect" first draft dramatically. But that's why we have to let the first draft marinate, so we can go back at it with fresh eyes to see what we missed the first time around. Daunting? You betcha!

As written, I have 30 pretty good chapters. Unfortunately, the fixes start at about chapter 12, which means revamping more than half the story. The good news: this story came to life very quickly, so I have a path to follow and lots of time to play with before I have to send it to my editor. The bad news: there's a whole lot of work to be done. Just a reminder that first drafts aren't meant to be perfect, but they do give you an excellent starting point for your journey. Now is when the real work begins.