Sunday I felt sad. I was printing out my first draft of my book to set it aside. This is a TRUE first draft - written fast and dirty. It is a fully formed skeleton with characters, and a beginning, a middle and an end. But it is choppy, rough and in need of spackling, sanding and adornment.
I look at it and see how much work it will need to be worthy.
The part of me that wants everything NOW - ala Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory - wants to keep working on it.
But my wiser self knows I'm worn out and I can't see straight. My wiser self knows I need to shelve it a little while, rest, and come back with fresh eyes.
I'm a little afraid... that I will lose the passion, the momentum while I wait... that when I see it again the story won't have the same magic for me or that all I will see are the flaws.
But it's part of the process. So I printed and hole-punched and put it all together in a three-ring binder and felt sad saying goodbye.
I haven't decided how long I will wait before cracking it open again - two weeks, or three, or four? But when it's time, the second draft challenge will be there to greet me. And then I'll pull Veruca back out of the packing peanuts, ready to make some trouble.
Maybe when you come back to it you will be refreshed with lots of new ideas? Sometimes, taking a break is just what we need:)
ReplyDelete~Debra
Blog: Capers of the vintage vixens
Congrats on making it this far! I'll bet a break will do you, and Veruca, some good.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like writing a novel is like baking bread. It needs at least two good rises, where you walk away and let it breathe. I always think I will forget that I have bread rising, but I feel it in my bones when it is time to go on to the next step and I always feel a resurgence that excitement that I had when I started. Let it rise - it will be great.
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