Among the many nuggets of wisdom shared between writers, one is repeated on a regular basis that I do my best to agree with, but mostly see as a promotion for discouragement:
“Every first draft is crap.”
When holding a stack of paper, knowing you have filled every page with adventures of love, hate, life, death and most of all, passion – the thought of having it called “crap” is akin to being called a failure. Creative folk are often their worst critics and constantly strive for improvement. Like someone looking back at how they started riding a bike after years of riding, it might seem a valid form of criticism, but to someone just beginning the process...
I am currently revising and editing the first book I ever published. Do I think it was crap? Honestly? No. Re-reading that story has made me recall a world I created with excitement. A tale rekindling the thrill of writing for me at a time when I was ready to give it up. Was it written to the absolute best of my ability? No. It was my first book, and as such - a first step.
Writing your first story is step one. If you are positive you have written a great story or are supremely confident you are a great writer, it should be known that even the gifted among us have more to do. When you write “The End” no matter how well you write, it should be clear that the process you have embarked upon has just begun.
At this point, you now have a new journey to undertake. First and foremost, you need to look at your writing through another’s eyes.
This is an important step simply because after reading your story over and over, it becomes a part of your mental memory. The analytical, detached observer is in the back seat playing with his cell phone and your imagination takes each sentence and constructs the rest of the story around it without even acknowledging those pesky adverbs. Therefore, a fresh perspective is in order and you must hand off your story to get different points of view.
These wondrous people are called "First, Alpha or Beta Readers”. They can be enlisted from friends, family or volunteers discovered through social media. Yes, we must. (shudder) socialize. Their help can be received a chapter at a time for more concise reviews as you go or all at once for an overview of your story. With these reviews, we writers are given valuable insight into what a typical reader will think. A reader reveals to us what did or did not work. Once you feel enough of them have gone through the book, you can proceed to the next step:
Employing an editor.
This can start with a Line or a Copy Editor as both are important and both should be used. A Copy Editor will be able to tell you if the story is sound or if there are plot holes as numerous as craters on the moon. The reality of what is discovered may be painful, but necessary. A Line Editor finds grammar, formatting and spelling errors. Sometimes both editors are listed as one so you get the best of both worlds. (Yay!)
Keep in mind: The stories we create are like shining gems discovered by our imagination. They fill our minds with possibilities and potential greatness. Those shimmering gems must be treated with care so the world discovers them in the best possible light.
As soon as you write “The End” on that last page, know that you have done what a mere fraction of people the world over have done. You, my friend, have written a book! That accomplishment is worthy of note and no matter what anyone tells you, you have scaled a mountain few others dared consider possible.
So remember to scrutinize anyone who says that your first draft is “crap”.
Our first draft is a first step. When it is done, we know that we’ve navigated through the intricacies of story-telling, brought a hero to life, tossed in one challenge after another and faced each obstacle on a long road to success. Every thread to our story has been woven with care, adjusting for every twist and turn with hopes that it all works out in the end.
So even if you must later fix grammar, story arcs or plot holes, understand this first step you’ve taken following “The End” is also the first step on your own path as a Writer.
