First Draft Blues

Hi KnavesAndKnots,

Congrats on getting to this point. 20,000 words (or roundabouts 25% for me usually) tends to be where things get wobbly for myself, and judging from other experienced, published writers, for a lot of people. There are a lot of reasons I think. I think the story of a novel in the very beginning is sprawling and kinetic in potential, and to some degree, resists shape. 25% is where the novel begins to demand a structure, and the imposition can be deterring. The best solution for me is simply to keep writing. Push through. That's really the only solution. We just have to do it, and keep doing it, until we have something. Sometimes we don't, but I'm sure you will.

KnavesAndKnots said:

Anyone else have that problem?

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Everyone does. The successful writers just keep going. In the end, in every endeavor, succeeding is nothing more than not quitting.

In the words of the master: "Do not try. Do, or do not."

Jeff

Honestly, this thing happens all the time. The main thing that distinguishes a writer from a nonwriter isn't usually talent, but willpower.

*strums guitar*
Oh, I've got the first draft blues
And I don't know what to do
Where is the plot, and who's the MC?
Did this guy turn out like I wanted him to be?
I'm bored and my brain wants to nap
But I have to get the group out of a trap
And how can they save the day?
What does bad guy want anyway?
The refrigerator is calling me
And I have to go to work at three
Oh I have those first draft blues
And I don't know what to do....

I'm on a first draft and I think part of the frustration is that now I am in the 'decision' phase. Editing is much easier and I fly through that stage because the tough decisions have already been made. What major plot lines to keep, what to cut, what characters to keep or cut have already been decided. Right now I'm still 'trying things out' and self-doubt creeps in with wondering if I'm taking the story in the right direction. When I tell myself it will be okay if things gets changed later, I'm able to keep going.

Are you a 'panster' or an outliner?

I can see a panster getting distracted easier than an outliner - because writing by the seat of your pants you get excited at first with the whole grand story idea, but maybe that peters out, or another intriguing plot takes its place.

I outline - sometimes to excess. Outline lets me get a handle on the scope of the work, I can see the entire arc of the story and of the main characters. I plot it out - if there isn't enough there for a novel, I may turn it into a short story series on my website, or I may just let it go and move on. I tend to ruminate over a story for a long time before even doing the outline. Anyway - because I have a very clear idea what each chapter is about and how the story will progress I tend to be anxious to get on to the next chapter. I also tend to overwrite a bit on the first draft, then reduce the wc during editing / later drafts.

Each of us has our process, and one method is any better than any other.

I can definitely relate to this. The important thing to remember is that you can't edit a draft if you don't have one. (Although that is also the most difficult to remember at the time.) This is maybe lame and contrived, but I like to think about an artist who's making something out of clay. They literally start with a slab, a hunk of wet clay that they throw on the wheel. First drafts are like slabs of wet clay. They are nothing, essentially. Horribly misshapen and deformed. But as the artist works on it, puts his personal touch on it, it becomes something beautiful and valuable.

One of the things that keeps me going while in the first draft is the knowledge that in order to fix any of it, I need to see the whole thing. Some of the things I think are crap will turn out not to be so bad once I see where they fit into the larger story. (And some will go into the trunk. But without the whole draft to look at it can be hard to know which is which.)

I do enjoy editing quite a bit too. Even when I've left myself a lot of work from the first draft stage. It's the chance to really polish and hone the story and watching it really come together is an enjoyable process for me.

However, every stage of writing always has points where you wonder if you're doing it right. Or if the idea can't be salvaged. When I get really caught up in those feelings and thoughts I usually either work on a short story (something that can't keep me distracted for very long) or skip ahead to a scene that I'm eager to write. Usually after a few days I find I'm not so discouraged about the earlier stuff and I can pick it back up and trudge onward.

To me, your reasoning is flawed when you say you see a pantser getting distracted easier than an outliner because ....

How can a non-outliner be excited about the whole grand story idea when normally he doesn't know it- I certainly don't.

First draft blues are probably mainly because the story isn't really going anywhere - and that can occur to anyone.

The cure? Possibly to take a break. Possibly to go back to where the story took a wrong turn. Perhaps to rethink or restart. The solution varies with the cause.

indianroads said:

Are you a 'panster' or an outliner?

I can see a panster getting distracted easier than an outliner - because writing by the seat of your pants you get excited at first with the whole grand story idea, but maybe that peters out, or another intriguing plot takes its place.

I outline - sometimes to excess. Outline lets me get a handle on the scope of the work, I can see the entire arc of the story and of the main characters. I plot it out - if there isn't enough there for a novel, I may turn it into a short story series on my website, or I may just let it go and move on. I tend to ruminate over a story for a long time before even doing the outline. Anyway - because I have a very clear idea what each chapter is about and how the story will progress I tend to be anxious to get on to the next chapter. I also tend to overwrite a bit on the first draft, then reduce the wc during editing / later drafts.

Each of us has our process, and one method is any better than any other.

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KnavesAndKnots said:

Throwing down 80,000 words and waiting all that time before going into proper edits is quite a different task, requiring different kinds of discipline.

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One of the hardest things about the writing part of a novel is the length. Even for folks (like myself) who write very quickly, it's a lot of work to get from start to finish. And then you have to edit the thing.

Personally, I do a lot of writing and polishing in my head before I put a scene down on paper (so to speak) so it's not just a rough blob most of the time. Or I sketch out bits with pen and paper, then rewrite and refine as I type it up. (Not all the time. But some scenes really need that extra work from the get-go or they keep nagging at you.) But just because the novel is long doesn't mean you can't put some consideration into each page or chapter as you go - it's just a question of figuring out how to do that while still making progress. (Even a few hundred words a day is still progress. Even a few sentences a day is still progress.)

I too hate doing the first draft - it's like pulling teeth. But it's one of those things that I just need to get done so that I can get into editing and fleshing out, which is the part I really enjoy. So I try to separate the two things out: first it's doing the hard work of trying to figure out where I'm going (and I don't just mean an outline), then once I know that, I can take my time and enjoy the ride.

To add an anecdote, for whatever it's worth: as you might know, Jack Kerouac supposedly wrote On the Road in a 3 week long binge. What I recently found out was that, while that's true, he then spent 6 years tweaking and editing it before it turned into what it is today. So maybe that's the way to do it: just get that first draft out whatever it takes, no questions asked.

I'm like two in a row where I've gotten 25% in to it, and decided that the basic plot was unworkable.

I hit that wall somewhere in the middle, every time, where it becomes apparent to me that the entire thing is crap, my characters are crap, my plot is crap, my setting is crap, even the font I'm using is crap and I want to set it on fire and never speak of it again. I avoid it at all costs ("Say, I think the cat's toenails need clipped!" "I MUST get that tiny stain out of the carpet in the trunk of my car. Right. Now.") But then I push through and after a while I realize it's not so bad, decent even, and by the end I'm happy with it again.

I'm in the (apparent) minority who goes back and edits as I go along. Doesn't mean the editing is done (oh, god no), but it does mean that what I've got done is progressing beyond the crap stage, and definitely feels like something that's worth completing. Might work for writers who are at a stage where they're not sure how to go forward. Simply go back. You'll still be accomplishing something, and ideas about going forward may occur to you while you're rereading what you've already got.

Carrie in PA said:

I hit that wall somewhere in the middle, every time, where it becomes apparent to me that the entire thing is crap, my characters are crap, my plot is crap, my setting is crap, even the font I'm using is crap and I want to set it on fire and never speak of it again. [...]

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Funny (and a bit off topic) - I get these feelings when I'm doing the final drafts of the work. I think that everything I've written is awful, and how dare I even consider publishing something that is so far below the standards of other authors? And since a lot of what I write is autobiographical, what are people going to think about me? Are people going to run away screaming when they meet me? Hell, is someone going to try to put me in prison? Will they lock me up in an asylum? or are they simply going to consider me a weirdo?

KnavesAndKnots said:

I think the thing with pantsing/outlining is that if you work more effectively as a pantser, then trying to outline may reduce your motivation/excitement/quality of work.

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This is pretty much me. I go into a story with only a few incidents in mind, if that, and I write to see how the story itself will play out, and what the characters will do next. I actually LIKE the first draft, because of the discovery and surprise, and I dislike the second and third drafts, because now I know what the story is, and the rest is just tweaking and fixing.