A plan so mind-numbingly weird it HAS to work!

You'll end up working darn hard at it and be frustrated when people aren't overly impressed.

Try it. You'll see.

i tried that. granted, i didnt know i was doing it at the time. but whatever it was, it was on purpose and horrible.

Um, why?

I tried that....people actually liked it!

I think you're talking about giving yourself permission to write crap.

Well, you know that last interview I had? I went there all casual, like. Not making an overt effort. I dressed smartly and was polite, but I gave myself permission not to care.

What happened?

They offered me the job.

Don't do it. You write your best every time you sit down to write. That would be just a waste of your time.

megan_d said:

Um, why?

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Yepper. I wrote that in my journal just the other day ... 'feel free to write crap ... but why?'

I just can't bring myself to do it. It seems so pointless. (Plus I hate doing a thing twice. When I'm done - I want to be DONE.) YMMV.

But hey - if it works for you ... do it!

Giving yourself permission to write crap doesn't mean you set out to do that. Just...if there are parts that are less than perfect, you move on, and plan to edit it later. Just as long as you get to 'the end'.

I very much doubt there are any authors who write a shiny, shiny first draft.

Yes...but she didn't say she's giving herself permission to write crap...she said she's going to purposely write crap. There's a big difference between the two. There will have to be OP clarification.

unique's a moon and judas is a pouch...you two need to change your avatars!

It's a crazy plan and I like crazy. That's why I speak to you, KTC.

scarletpeaches said:

I very much doubt there are any authors who write a shiny, shiny first draft.

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A great many writers have written shiny first drafts, and the number of classic, famous, and bestselling novels wherein the first draft was also the sold draft is astounding.

Jamesaritchie said:

A great many writers have written shiny first drafts, and the number of classic, famous, and bestselling novels wherein the first draft was also the sold draft is astounding.

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And as always, my JAR-baiting post works.

Project nachonaco said:

What if I PURPOSELY write an AWFUL draft of my novel?

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Isn't this just commonly called, "The First Novel"?

And beyond that, "The First Draft"?

Project nachonaco said:

What if I PURPOSELY write an AWFUL draft of my novel?

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How far along is your WIP? Say if you are into the second draft and going nuts because there isn't enough interesting stuff to work with and you feel you need to make a fresh start then writing naked with an anything goes mindset and not carrying if it is mostly crap might work. On the other hand you'll get sidetracked for a month. Consider a scene by scene approach.

wordmonkey said:

Isn't this just commonly called, "The First Novel"?

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yes, thats what i was getting at.

weird thread. of course it is legitamate to write through to the end without perfecting until 2nd draft, but why would you sit down and not write the best sh*t you can manage at the time.

maybe i'm confused.

what would be your intention for compiling your bad work into a novel?

Are you asking if you can purposefully write a piece of crap novel? Like, first drafts aside, you want to - intentionally - write something completely stupid?

If you pull that off, I believe it's called satire...

But what if, when I get a bad idea and it won't go away, I write the BAD ideas in a 'new' novel with a similar plot?


What do you mean by bad? Weird? Offensive? Cliched? Boring?

I still don't think I get it.

Well this would be a good way to seriously focus on what NOT to do.

But if you wanna do that, you'd be better served critting other writers. Sign up for something like critters and you'll need to read analytically. I've found it a great way to actually think about the process and mechanics.

Not sure why you think doing something bad on purpose would be fun though.

Unless you plan to sub it to PA after.

And even then...

Project nachonaco said:

Weird, offensive, cliche, AND boring.

I have no intentions of publishin' the bad novel.

It's just for kicks.

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So what exactly "HAS to work"???? I still don't get this. Maybe I'm just stupid.