TITLE: Secret Code GMG (I'll tell ya one of these days)
START DATE: April 1, 2022
PUBLICATION: MARCH 2023
CUPS OF COFFEE: 212
STATUS: Sloppy mess but all there. Taking a breath.
PREMISE: A man remembers a tragic Easter weekend in 1985 when a flash flood fueled by snow melt swept his family away. Still, he can't blame God, only his own folly.
July's Progress
My goal for July was to finish a first draft, no matter how sloppy. Technically, I did that!
I took a different approach to get here. Was it successful?
I tend to be a slow writer. A lot of back spacing and re-writing as I go. This time around I wanted to try something called the fast draft method.
In the fast draft method, the idea is to do more extensive outlining before ever typing a word, and then, rush through the initial draft very fast. (no editing/rewriting as you go)
The concept is to get the main thoughts down without interruption. The minor stuff is dealt with in the re-writes and editing, which I agree is probably where that work belongs.
Still, it took me four months to get to this point, so I cant call that a "fast" draft. My initial outlined changed as I wrote which forced me back into my old ways of thinking things out as I went. It just happens that way; what I write informs me of where the story aught to go next, and what the characters would actually do.
My Goal for August
In a single word, rewrites.
In rewrites I work from big picture to small picture, which means I start by making sure the story flows nicely as a whole, from one chapter into the next. It also means I have to try my hardest to ignore the urge to correct typos and awkwardly worded phrases. That tedious work comes later.
Next month I hope to share one of the reworked chapter endings with you.
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