Everyday Canvas

Musing on My First Drafts and Today’s Prompt

Prompt: Your local electronics store has 3 new products: Time machine, a door that goes anywhere you want or a helmet that lets you see the future. You can only afford one. Which one do you choose?

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None of the above, but if I have to, I’ll take the door, at least I’ll know where I am going, which goes to show how I am not that imaginative with my writing.

Now that I’ve answered the prompt, I’ll examine the idea of leaving stuff in its first draft, which I’ve been doing with all my NaNo novels, partially because I am lazy and partially because I’m scared stiff I’ll make them even worse. With the first draft, I try not to make gross mistakes, but a few may have escaped my attention. No problem, if I don’t publish.

The idea that all first drafts suck may not be correct, either. Some of the self-published novels I sometimes read--or do not finish reading--have a several serious problems with them, and a few of those have had editors. My guess is they were not true editors but other friend-writers. Nothing wrong with that if both writers had a good grasp of the craft, and I can always overlook a tiny problem or two; however, some of the time, I find a lot more than that.

On the other hand, it is possible the muse is kind enough to show up during the first draft. If he or she didn’t, a novice writer would be too discouraged to continue or may not see the holes as he or she is writing; yet, a more experienced one cringes even through the initial writing process. In my case, I enjoy the writing process so much, I don’t care if I have typed some stupidity or other.

This is fine; my writing can improve later if I keep at it. Yet, what if I keep making the same mistakes, novel after novel? Since I have banished my editorial muse, I don’t care, while I write, for what she keeps yelling at me. Her observations, as correct as they may be, are irritating. I’ll, however, beg her to return with a long list of to-dos when I finally decide to fix my novels at the expense of my writerly delights. Will that day come? Do I have that long a life left?

Who cares how time flies when one is having so much fun!