tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post4960256165676902284..comments2023-10-15T11:23:35.339+01:00Comments on Hawkins Bizarre: First Draft StrugglesAlishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-33196558945352700602008-03-22T19:21:00.000+00:002008-03-22T19:21:00.000+00:00Hi, Faye, hi, Alis--Interesting: slow drafters who...Hi, Faye, hi, Alis--<BR/><BR/>Interesting: slow drafters who like redrafting.<BR/><BR/>As to structure, I've not yet had the experience of finding my book to start later than the first chapter, though I gather this is not uncommon. My biggest structural problem is a rushed ending; in the second draft I have to back up and drop in two or three more complications to prevent things from sorting themselves out too easily.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-56834258534482591772008-03-21T18:27:00.000+00:002008-03-21T18:27:00.000+00:00Hi David, Hi Faye - I'm like Faye; not a quick fir...Hi David, Hi Faye - I'm like Faye; not a quick first-drafter and yet I still really look forward to redrafting. Maybe it's the difference between what might be called fiddling (editing words and sentences) and structural editing - 'Oh dear, my novel really appears to begin at chapter 26'...) I fiddle as I write but need my redrafting hat on to look at the structure of the book.Alishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-11317079262789037262008-03-21T17:27:00.000+00:002008-03-21T17:27:00.000+00:00I dunno, David, I'm not the speediest of first-dra...I dunno, David, I'm not the speediest of first-drafters, either, and I do revise as I go along as well. Still (feckin') love redrafting. I have to be awkward.Faye L. Boothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06962126539347817602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-6465558006542054602008-03-21T16:54:00.000+00:002008-03-21T16:54:00.000+00:00The gender theory of redrafting? I dunno... At the...The gender theory of redrafting? I dunno... At the extreme are those very few writers who almost never revised. There are almost as many women amongst these (Muriel Spark, Susan Sontag, Cynthia Ozick) as men.<BR/><BR/>And it was Mister Testosterone himself, Hemingway, who asserted "All first drafts are excrement." <BR/><BR/>I've never been able to find a gender divide on the issue--but, then, probably 90% of the writers I know are women, so it's hard to get a good sample.<BR/><BR/>I find the biggest divide to be along speed lines. Those who write slow, revise-on-the-page first drafts (I average a page an hour), tend to dislike the rewriting phase. <BR/><BR/>Those who put down their first drafts more rapidly tend to expect and even look forward to redrafting.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-24978918797231478892008-03-21T10:48:00.000+00:002008-03-21T10:48:00.000+00:00Hmmm... so, beginning to look like a gender-split....Hmmm... so, beginning to look like a gender-split. Women (unless they're Muriel Spark) like redrafting, men don't. I can feel another post coming on...Alishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-13655607638270059302008-03-21T09:08:00.000+00:002008-03-21T09:08:00.000+00:00I like re-drafting because I feel I'm getting it '...I like re-drafting because I feel I'm getting it 'right' the second time round. The first time I'm just getting the story down and feeling my way around - seeing if there is actually a story there! I try not to go back and fiddle too much first time, in case I put myself off :o)Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986874444030474719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-3138256760263938452008-03-21T07:57:00.000+00:002008-03-21T07:57:00.000+00:00I hate all the stages beyond the first draft (and ...I hate all the stages beyond the first draft (and sometimes the first draft too...).<BR/><BR/>The first draft is an absorbing place because I'm learning: about what happens to my characters; about whether my characters are who I thought they were; and most of all how my narrative voice will undercut what started out as a deeply portentous drama and give it a slyness which changes the tone of the whole thing in my mind.<BR/><BR/>But unlike Faye, I feckin' hate redrafting. This is the kind of bean-counting I do all day at work: necessary, important, but definitely a chore.<BR/><BR/>I read somewhere that Muriel Spark "never redrafted". I'll take that as hyperbole, but I don't think it's a given that first drafts are just a cathartic outpouring of ideas which need a firm dose of Madam Whiplash to coerce them into shape.<BR/><BR/>The shape of none of my novels has changed much after the first draft. My story is that I put the effort into getting it right first time. Others might think I release them into the world half-baked. Others will be better judges on this...Tim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-49067144581101049792008-03-20T20:16:00.000+00:002008-03-20T20:16:00.000+00:00I like it when I can see I'm improving things, but...I like it when I can see I'm improving things, but when I'm just twiddling about because I know it's not quite right yet... God, that's horrible. I know I should wait for inspiration to strike but I just can't. A born twiddler.nohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00398443646324855212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-51302413434405330742008-03-20T16:20:00.000+00:002008-03-20T16:20:00.000+00:00Hey,David! I think amongst the writers I know you ...Hey,David! I think amongst the writers I know you are in the majority - maybe we should swap writing acquaintances?Alishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-23124622919026935472008-03-20T16:06:00.000+00:002008-03-20T16:06:00.000+00:00I wish I loved redrafting, but I don't. I find the...I wish I loved redrafting, but I don't. I find the process of rewriting both painful and fiddly--a bit like a surgical operation where you have to ensure the veins and arteries are still all hooked up correctly so the blood will still flow.<BR/><BR/>But I don't think a love of redrafting is rare. In fact, most of the writers I know are eager to get a first draft down so they can get on to "the real work."<BR/><BR/>Alas, Alis (hey, I like that), I am not one so inclined.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-39657337792219329372008-03-20T15:47:00.000+00:002008-03-20T15:47:00.000+00:00Wow, Faye - that's so cool. Glad I'm not the only ...Wow, Faye - that's so cool. Glad I'm not the only one!Alishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9088473527308746266.post-765450747252346182008-03-20T15:01:00.000+00:002008-03-20T15:01:00.000+00:00I feckin' love redrafting. That's usually when th...I feckin' love redrafting. That's usually when the whole thing really comes to life for me.Faye L. Boothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447690238037575209noreply@blogger.com