The Pornography Wars – The first Draft
I am partway through the last chapter of the first draft. Currently my latest novel is 48,000 words. By the time I have completed the first draft it will be in excess of 50,000 words.
The first draft is always the fun part for me. It is when I lay down the bare bones, find my characters, develop plots, personalities and allow the ideas to come to life.
A first draft always goes differently to how it was first envisioned (no matter how carefully the plot was scripted). As the character come to life things change. I find that they would not do certain things and would do other things.
A first draft is always about problem solving. How one can get from A to B. Why would this happen? What would be the result of that?
I like Science Fiction because it enables me to have a broader canvas. I do not write about magic or fantasy. I write about science and human nature. I take on board what Arthur C Clarke said about science – ‘Superior technology is indistinguishable from magic’. My aliens can do many weird things because their superior technology enables them to. I like that.
In the next few days I shall complete the first draft.
I shall then carry out the first rewrite. I will put the flesh on the bones – the settings, descriptions, characters. I shall make them real. By the time I will have completed that I should have a word count in excess of 60,000 words. I will then edit and add. That usually adds a further 2000 words. Then it will receive a couple of further edits by which time I will have become sick of it!
A bit of time between edits is a good thing. It gives me perspective and objectivity. Too long and I’ll have forgotten too much. Too much editing and the writing becomes stale and overworked.
The joy of writing!!