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@gracie-j
During drafting that sounds a lot like me, 500 words an hour:)
What keeps me from overthinking? Pretty much the thought that I still have many more drafts to go, so that frees my rein and permits me the fun of messing things up and not worrying about it too much. That and deadlines to keep the words flowing and having other projects going so I don’t have the time to overthink since the other things will need my attention too.How rough are my drafts? *Inserts insane laugh* My rough drafts are the reason the word ‘rough’ was invented. I could tell whole stories of the tragedies from my docs during the rough drafts XD
How long does it take to write my first draft? 30 days … NaNoWriMo veteran here:)
And what keeps me from editing during NaNo is because #1 it’s against the rules and #2 survival is the main objective.
After the first draft though, resisting the urge to edit gets harder I’ll admit, thence I often do spend a long time on small stuff after NaNo ends. So when that happens, I just try and keep my mind on the drafting instead of editing and keep moving. Niel Gaiman has some golden advice on this and says, “-fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.”
That’s basically what I shoot for and remember that the reason I’m drafting is to improve, not to perfect:)
@gracie-j Hahahaaaaa…. *sweats nervously* I feel called out XD
I’m the same way. I don’t draft. Usually, I end up hating a story once I’m through with it and can’t bear to come back and fix everything… That being said, I’m going to try and make myself draft my current wip because I’m afraid the plot will feel choppy otherwise lol. Or sometimes, in the odd case that I do, I draft and then go back and pick-and-choose chapters to edit T_T Is this a bad thing to do? Yes. Do I care? Also yes. Will I change this? Probably not 🙂
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
@gracie-j Thanks for starting this thread! It’s been super helpful for me as well to read through the comments :))
I’m echoing @devastate-lasting that handwriting, although time-consuming when you have to type it all out, is distraction free + portable + forces you to keep going and produce something. It’s also much more enjoyable than staring at a screen, and you feel very accomplished when you see pages and pages of your handwriting!
– I also write around 500-600 words an hour
– My rough drafts (unless handwritten) tend to be pretty neat in terms of prose, and lacking in plot + character development, because my writer’s self is unfortunately skewed that way. We all start somewhere though!
– My novel’s first draft was part once-in-a-while, part Nano, so it took me ~5 months to complete. I tend to write less during school/work, though, and do it more during breaks.
– What keeps me from editing… refusing to read what I’ve already written (hard to do though). Also setting my own goals on the Nano site has helped me focus on word count and not perfection, which definitely is helping me get much more done.
It's g-h, 2-4-6-8 twice, three 9's
literatureforthelight.wordpress.com@gracie-j
I have absolutely no advice to give. This is completely my problem too, and I didn’t even realize I had it until I read this thread!! XD Thanks so much for starting it. I’ve learned a lot!
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
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@nanisnook Haha, you’re welcome! So have I! When I first started writing, I never even knew there was such a thing as drafting outside of architecture, so since then I’ve acquired my own way of writing. I’m content with it, but I’d love to learn how to draft to better hone my craft and – hopefully – speed the writing process up a bit!
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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#facepalmsbecausehowdidshemisseveryoneelsesreplies???? #canhashtageshavequestionsmarks? #achwhocares
(Apparently I’m not the only slow non-drafter. Good to know. I feel much better now.)
@abigail-m Solid advice, my friend! Thank you! NaNo sounds like an awesome way to stay focused, but I’ll admit that I rarely ever have the time to write that much in such a short amount of time. #24/7babysitterofsix
@daisy-torres I feel ya, girl!
@gh24682468999 You’re welcome!! Thanks for sharing!@gracie-j Ugh, this is such a relatable struggle (and I’m totally going to be stealing everyone’s advice:D)
I’m in the middle of moving at the moment, so pardon me if my reply doesn’t make sense, but the tip that’s helped me the most is something a screenwriting prof. once told me: give your draft permission to be bad.
Now, I haven’t met someone who’s actually been a bad writer yet, especially on the lovely Kingdom of Pen, but nevertheless, I’ve found there’s freedom in just embracing the awful-ness of first draft-ing. (Are all of those words words? I may be abusing dashes here.) Like, I’ll be sitting there, typing away at one of my million Scrivener docs, and think to myself, “wow, this…is not good.” But since I have kind of already expected it to be bad, I keep chipping away at it anyway, since it isn’t supposed to be good yet. Does that make any sense at all?
Anyway, I know that’s way easier said than done, and goodness knows I’m far from perfect at it. But I believe in you and your writing!!! You’ve got this girl–keep writing!!
“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”
@gracie-j
Of course! 😀
Yes, NaNoWriMo can really soak up time even though it’s 1,667 words a day. #oofthatsoundslikeachallengeIcanimagine#bestofwriterlywisheswithyourwriting:)
( XD I’m starting to realize how much fun hashtags are).
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@lewilliams Aw, thank you! Your support means so much!!! That makes total sense – and that’s one thing I’ve been learning while writing BAD…which is, quite aptly, rather bad in some areas. I just keep reminding myself that I can always go back and fix things, that what’s most important is that I write whatever I can!
@abigail-m #definitelyachallenge #butworthit #thankyousomuch #iknowright?
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