Saturday, October 11, 2008
I write
Grandma asked why she hadn't been invited to read anything that I wrote. I've told her before that no writer would be stupid enough to show their first draft to anyone. You will see it when I'm done with it. I've also been waiting for NaNoWriMo to write. Then I'll rewrite it and again. Sometime this year I'll start a program Mom got for me. By the time I'm done with it I'll have another book. Lastly I'll rewrite the first book. Then my editors will see it.
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4 comments:
In the acknowledgments for Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star, Brandon Mull wrote:
"I can never read my own work without an intimate knowledge of the story and the events to come. This can pose a problem when I struggle to distinguish the information in my mind from the information actually on the page. To help me gauge whether the story is unfolding effectively I solicit feedback from trusted readers."
Remember, even Tolkien had someone else read his work before it was published (C.S. Lewis).
Of course, you never know, Grandma might steal your work and post it on the web! ;)
I agree with sweet polly: a lot of writers share their drafts. It's about one of the most agonizing experiences there is, though. So maybe some are afraid of the pain.
It is up to you whether you work through it first though. Rachel is right; for school papers they always wanted us to come in and pass around our rough drafts so that everyone could help each other out and make comments. Yeah RIGHT!
Most people brought in their first draft that they had thrown together for the occasion, usually half as long or not finished. It was horrible stuff to read. I always planned to be nearly done, as if I would turn it in to the teacher that day, and then let them read it. I always found something to change, so you could still call it a "draft".
I wouldn't surrender my first draft to a soul, but I would consider my 2nd or third, and if I was getting close to being done, I would be begging people to read it.
On the other hand, you probably should be writing other stuff on the side that you don't care as much about every day just to practice the skill. Maybe you could pass that around.
I've appreciated your poetry you've posted. Poetry is a good "exercise" for developing skill.
Your Great Grandma Ruby was WAY fluent in writing metrical verse. I'd try it and came to understand that beyond the talent, it took practice to get there. She'd write pages and pages and cleverly linked rhyming words that were more than one or two syllables long. (I think three max and rarely at that was as good it got for me.)
She told stories and often was called upon to write a specific story in rhyme to present at a certain event. She was very "popular." Her themes were intentionally of two types: inspirational and humorous. (She would have considered dark poetry self-centered.)
My "contribution" to her amassed stories was to compile them into a printed binder one day for my sisters and for me, after she died, but alas the box I kept it all in was in the garage attic and was vaporized in the fire. I was alway sad about having put off that particular project.
Best wishes for the best blossoming of your obvious talent.
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