What To Do With A First Draft
Whether you’ve just smashed NaNoWriMo in record time, or have been slogging out this novel for a decade, reaching the end of a first draft is a huge great MASSIVE flapping achievement. So before you do anything else, if you’ve got to the end of a first draft the most important thing you need to […]
5 Tips for First Draft Triumph
You have an idea. Brilliant! Ideas are where it all begins. You then contemplate the possibilities that this fricking fantabulous idea could offer you. You might write a bestselling novel, become a blogging sensation, or the world’s most notable expert on thirteenth century episcopal stockings (It’s a thing). Then, after all this daydreaming, you painstakingly […]
5 Tips for First Draft Triumph
You have an idea. Brilliant! Ideas are where it all begins. You then contemplate the possibilities that this fricking fantabulous idea could offer you. You might write a bestselling novel, become a blogging sensation, or the world’s most notable expert on thirteenth century episcopal stockings (It’s a thing). Then, after all this daydreaming, you painstakingly […]
Five Reasons To Ditch The First Draft And Work Towards A Zero Draft Instead
A few years ago I told a friend that I’d finished a first draft of a novel and I was starting The Big Edit. She said, ‘oh no you’re not sonnymajim, you don’t have a first draft until every scene that needs to be in the story is in the story’. And I said, ‘what […]
Five Reasons To Ditch The First Draft And Work Towards A Zero Draft Instead
A few years ago I told a friend that I’d finished a first draft of a novel and I was starting The Big Edit. She said, ‘oh no you’re not sonnymajim, you don’t have a first draft until every scene that needs to be in the story is in the story’. And I said, ‘what […]
5 Films From The Nineties That Will Get You To The End Of Your First Draft
Struggling to finish your first draft? You could cry and shove chocolate cake in your face (this sometimes works), but perhaps it’s time for an alternative approach. So, hitch up your combat trousers, snap on your conical bra, and step into a happier, more nurturing writing environment… the world of Nineties movies. No wait really. […]
5 Steps to Magically Whipping a Shitty First Draft into Shape
It’s a beautifully crafted literary masterpiece in your head, but miserable on paper. So how do you get from ‘pile of words’ to ‘book-shaped thing’ without going utterly and entirely insane through the redrafting process? Here’s a big fucking secret: editing isn’t just about making the words sound right or sticking a comma in the right […]
