Tag: first draft

My Roller Coaster Writing Week

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This week, I had so many ups and downs in my writing world, I wouldn’t have been surprised if, next to my computer, a sign had been appeared stating, “You must be this tall to ride.” So, slap on your seat belts and let’s go for a little loop-the-loop (and please keep your hands in the car at all times).

Someone did NOT keep his hands in the car at all times.

As with any thrill ride, I started the week with that tinge of excitement because I managed to outline Books Five & Six of the Osteria Chronicles.

Yay!!!

Who knew there was an Osteria-themed roller coaster/water park!?

Sort of like that slow chugging up that first climb of the roller coaster, my outline started out a little clunky. First, I had no idea where my notes (which I had written out way back during the production of Book Two, The Voyage of Heroes) had gone. A little hunting and searching and voila, there they were lurking deep in a desk drawer. Continue reading →

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How Do You Write?

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The trouble with being a writer – really being a writer, not just sitting around talking about being a writer – is that at some point you have to get all those images, characters and conversations out of your head. Okay, some people need to see a therapist, spend years in therapy and possibly take medication to get those things out of their head, but for writers we only need pen and paper, or a computer.

Now, this could be a huge dividing line between writers. Just as some writers swear by creating outlines before they ever put down Word One, other writers just start writing and let the words flow as they may. Step into any writers’ forum and you’ll see passionate arguments from either side. And I have a feeling whether you write out your first draft longhand or you type it directly into your computer is another one of those “issues” that writers (when trying to avoid the task of writing) love to debate about.

This week I’m curious to find out which side of the keyboard you’re on when drafting your work. Continue reading →