I'm starting to feel like a writer again. I don't know what happened, except I put pen (fountain pen) to paper and came up with about a chapter's worth of plot for Gaia's Hands. It's really rough -- I don't know if my characters are consistent or my atmosphere atmospheric or any of that, but this is all about a first draft
I've learned a lot about first drafts in my six years of writing novels, and this is what I've learned:
- You just need to write. Edit later.
- When you're new at writing, you will think your finished first draft is glorious. When you're more seasoned, you will think your first draft is an abomination. In reality, it is somewhere between the two.
- Let yourself get exhilarated by what happens in your first draft. Marvel at the characters, feel excited by the plot. Think of it (to use another metaphor) as planning and planting a garden. It will take a lot of weeding to get to its final result, but you're not at that stage yet.
So right now I'm really excited about Jeanne's experiment with the basil, where she learns that she has a green thumb, something she can't ignore when the results are quantified in front of her. Later I'll grimace at how my characters haven't necessarily reacted to type. But that's later.
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