I wrote 75% of it before a crit partner smacked my literary cheeks and said. "No. Start over."
I don't know why, but at the climactic end of my books I have SO much trouble getting AIC (ass-in-chair) and just writing the darn thing. Maybe because there's so much on the line.
Maybe because I allow myself to be so distractable. Like, "Look! Another turkey in my backyard! Let's Google wild turkeys again!"
Oh, and just so you know I'm not making up the turkey thing, here's one from the other day that was roaming my neighborhood.
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| teeny, tiny turkey |
What about you guys? What's the hardest part of writing a first draft for you?
32 comments:
Oh those Turkeys! They distract me all the time too! Bad turkeys! Bad! Oh, look....there's another one.... He's so cute. Wonder what he is doing now? Gotta go....
You really do have turkeys in your yard!
First draft? The whole thing! Probably just getting it started. I discovered I can take just as long on an outline as I can a first draft.
I have a lot of trouble with the endings too. I guess it's because they're so emotions, both for me AND the characters, and I find it hard to live it.
Hardest part of writing for me is just getting started. After that, it's not too bad.
Wild turkeys- maybe you could come up with the Angry Turkeys game and make billions.
Doesn't that bird know the danger he's in? He'll be lining a plate soon if he doesn't get out of town! (Sounds like a very 'Old Western Movie' threat when I put it that way ...) :-D
I also have trouble getting those endings down, but I think it stems from a somewhat recent revelation: stories are made or broken with their beginnings and endings. If you can nail those two things, the rest kind of just falls into place, you know?
I'm also convinced that writer agony correlates to good writing, so we're in good shape. :-)
I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one who suffers from end-of-the-novel distraction. I'm like "Oh,I think the walls need to be washed." (In all fairness, I think turkeys in the yard is a legitimate distraction, especially with Thanksgiving looming--you have to warn them. :)
When my crit partners tell me to take it out of one person and put it into another. Something I'm working on now.
Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly
HA! I adore this cartoon! We have random grey fox sightings in my neighborhood in Philly. Very distracting, because foxes are cool!
I always find myself dawdling and getting distracted in the middle. The first 40 pages are so go ok, then suddenly it's agony. Once I get those pages down, the climax an denouement flow much more easily.
It's funny, as starting a first draft is always the hardest thing for me. Ending is easy. Ending is like a mile-long freight train doing eighty miles an hour. It's almost impossible to stop. But beginnings? I sort of have to create some momentum, rev up the engine to full throttle, before I can start moving forward.
Once I get going it tends to be fine, but that initial push at the start can be like torture. I could really use someone shouting at me thru a megaphone until I start typing.
mood
Moody Writing
First draft is definitely the hardest for me. And sadly I need to go back to my first draft and move it past page 45. Sigh. Good luck with yours.
The turkeys would distract me. I'd be out there taking pictures for hours.
I lose steam somewhere in the middle sometimes.
I wring my hands and walk away when I have to write conflict. Not all, just the really tough stuff.
Oh Lord, you said it for me Lydia. I'm also finishing my first draft and I'm on the last chapters but it's sooo hard to concentrate! I think it's because I think "Nah, I'm almost there, I have time." Just a wild guess, don't really know.
So, *claps hands* when are we eating those turkeys?
My mom has turkeys in her yard every night; they come to roost. I'd be totally distracted by them. It's probably a good thing there's no window in my direct line of sigh. I'd actually have to get up out of the chair to look out.
Writing the first part?
For get it.
Five don't lol
Congrats on nearing the end of your newest WIP! For me, the hardest part of starting a new book is not knowing the characters. After spending years in my last WIP, my characters feel like old friends. Now, as I work on the new stuff, I'm all, "Who are you people?" They feel flat and one dimensional, but I know it's part of the process and by the end, they'll feel like old friends, too.
Hardest part of the first draft? Apart from getting started, and getting back into a regular routine, the hardest part is keeping going - especially through those "where the heck do I go from here?" moments.
You have turkeys too? One has been hanging around my neighborhood, although I haven't seen him lately.
For me, it usually gets hard somewhere about two thirds of the way through. I've got the ending in mind, but I get stuck on how to get there. Plus there are so many shiny things on the internet...
For me it's a pinch before I'm halfway through. About 40% or so. I procrastinate, and then I make myself hit that half way mark, and once I know I have less than half to go, I pick up steam big time.
Good luck with yours!
The hardest part of the first draft for me is the beginning. It's agony getting my ass in the chair then! The ending is also difficult but for different reasons. I don't want to let the story go. And I don't want to put my characters through what I know I'm going to put them through.
Good luck writing your ending!
Jai
It must hurt to be told you should start over when you're almost done with your WIP! I hope you can still reuse some of your content. For me, one of the hardest things about doing a first draft is getting past the first few chapters.
I'm jealous. My wild turkeys don't talk back!
Bummer.
Hope it's going well today (the writing, not the talking to turkeys).
The hardest part for me is probably trying not to rush when I get near the end because I want to know what happens. ;o)
My parents have a lot of problems with wild turkeys in their neighborhood. They'll jump/roost on the local cars and scratch the paint terribly with their feet.
Plus turkey poop is very messy to clean up.
My first drafts can cause me a lot of trouble and tearing of my hair. Now don't get distracted and keep writing ;)
wild turkeys! They better start hiding before November comes around :S
BTW, You just won the giveaway. Hop on over to my blog to claim your prize :)
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
I'm having similar trouble with revising the end of my WIP. I'm so close to being finished but it's hard to stay motivated, also because there's so much on the line. And also because being finished means sending it out and that's kind of scary!
I have more trouble with the beginning (and middle) of my first drafts. The end is where I finally figure out what the whole story was about -- and realize I have to go back and fix the beginning and middle ...
Really? 75% done and then you started over? Wow. Good for you!
LOL! Before my internal editor took over, drafting used to be so quick...then again, it took me YEARS to edit anything into...well, something, LOL!
So, get to gettin' lady and finish that draft!
That turkey better check the calendar and speed up into some nearby brush.
Seriously, a turkey in your back yard?! Wow! LOL! That's something you don't see everyday. I must admit, it would distract me too. ;) Congrats on being so close to finishing!
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