I love first drafts.
I hate first drafts.
It's a bit of a complicated relationship.
I love being able to have the freedom to go wherever I want with a new story and a new idea. The characters aren't locked into set patterns yet. Anything is possible.
But when anything is possible sometimes it's hard to figure out which way to go, which direction to take the story.
And then, at least for me, I always get to a part in the story - maybe about a third of the way in, where I'm convinced it's the most horrible thing ever written and there really is no point in going on anymore.
Usually I manage to muddle through that part and get back to the fun of inventing new twists and turns. And it is fun to create like that. It's one of the things I love about writing.
I also love the refining part, where I take the rough first draft and turn it into something that I might actually want someone else to read.
Right now I'm working on one story in first draft and it's just a little past the part where I'm convinced it's the most awful thing ever. I've muddled through the rough patch.
I also will be doing final edits shortly, for the third Ali book - Honestly, Ali! I'm so excited to have another Ali book coming out. The fourth Ali book is still in first draft form, waiting for me to turn it into something fun and glamorous. So I've got stories in all phases. Life is good.
First drafts can be the most fun though.
But, sometimes I really hate them.
What is your favorite or least favorite part of writing? First draft, revision, plotting? And why?
Haha. I hear you. I crawl through first drafts, changing, changing. It's such a relief to finally reach the end. It is fun letting the characters personality come out and show who they truly are. I think my favorite is meeting the characters that sometimes are not exactly who I thought they were. I like revision because that's when I discover what the story is really about and why the characters do the things they do.
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