Hello all you writers out there that visit my blog; I have a question. Okay, so there are only two writers that visit my blog. Okay, okay, so there are only two people that visit my blog, and they both happen to be writers. I still have a question. When you are writing your first draft, do you get input before you are finished? I mean, it’s a new idea for a novel, prose, short story, and you sit down to write, do you wait until you are totally finished before letting someone read it?
Another question: If you do let others read your creation as it is progressing, when you get advice, do you stop and change/edit/clean up the parts that have been critiqued? Or do you continue forging ahead and return to those parts later?
I seem to be doing a lot of rewriting on the first 2-5 portions of my journey I’m calling “a novel” and I don’t even know if the story will work after chapter 10. . .maybe one never knows.
Thank you for any input!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
On this journey, am I running in circles?
Posted by KM Wilsher at 2:29 PM
Labels: first draft, rewrites
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4 comments:
Hey there!
Great questions!
I think it really just depends on your personality.
For me, I rarely let anyone read it before hand- but up until a couple of weeks ago I barely let anyone read it at all.
My friend Joy just finished one of mine, and I got her input on things to put in the sequel that I'm just starting. I may or may not let her read it before it's finished- I haven't decided yet. And I kinda think she'd prefer to wait till its done.
Even though my first draft is done, I've been sending it out to crit partners at the same time that I'm doing my second draft. So I'm kinda doing a second and third draft at the same time.
So yes, I am going through and changing things as I get feedback.
So long story short, do whatever works for you. You probably have some general idea where you're headed, so it may be easier to get there if you don't have people telling you what to do. On the other hand, you may run into writers block and need some input in order to get past it.
Go with your gut, and ask people for input if you need it!
Thanks AvilyJ! I will keep on doing the next thing. (which I think is writing, huh? :-) It's good to hear what you're doing! Mimic the best, I say!
Really, I appreciate the feedback more than you know!
God bless you, sister.
Welllll. . .I have two answers, kind of. . .
The first is that when I wrote in college, it was for grades and I never had anyone read the assignments prior to submitting them. The professors graded on what they were looking for, be it style, content, etc. and their critiques helped me get perspective on my writing.
The second answer is that it depends. Are you writing to be "popular"? Or are you writing because you have the passion, the fire in the belly, to tell your story?
You will find your answers inside. Go within and all will be well.
Thanks rella! Poetic as usual! I always find that the key to the lock is always right inside me! That helped!
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