Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Inspiration: Epic First Draft Fails

     I'm not supposed to be blogging on Thursdays this month. I'm supposed to be working on my JuNoWriMo project. At my current word count, I'm definitely on target to finish the manuscript by the end of June.

     But I can't.

     Not without overcoming some serious mental barriers. I'm gearing up to write a really intense, integral part of the story...kind of the pivotal moment, if you will. And I all I can think about are all the tangles still behind me in the first 40,000 words for JuNoWriMo Draft 1.

     First of all, there's the redundant redundancies that sneak their sneaky way into my manuscript. Some of my personal favorites include:

  • “What are you still doing awake?” David was surprised to see his wife awake.
  •  With faltering steps, she stepped in.
  • Tiger didn’t have any more money to spend. He had spent it all already.

And then there's the goofy typos and misspellings, like:
  •  There were dozens of girls aging in range from ten to eighteen.

  • Sparrow didn’t know who the knew girl was. 

And, of course, since I'm often writing late into the night, there's those sentences that are so comically awful I started keeping track of them. I put these in my please don't ask category. For example:


  • His heart hadn’t stopped beating since he entered the room.

  • Tiger was subtly aware that he was panting with excitement.


  • Mr. Tong rested his cup on his knee and looked out the window. (This sentence makes sense except for the fact that Mr. Tong is blind.)
  • Translucent eyelids stared up at him. (Yeah, I told you not to ask.)
 
Visit bookfun.org to vote for my novel!
Believe it or not, as embarrassing as these lines would be if they showed up in my completed manuscript, I'm inspired when I read them today. Yes, my first draft is going to have mistakes. Yes, some of the things I write this month won't many any sense at all. But that's why it's a first draft. So, today I'm inspired by my own mistakes, and I hope you got a good laugh out of them as well.

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Blog Love: The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting.

Pretty please: My novel, The Beloved Daughter, was nominated for book of the month for an online book club magazine. You can vote for The Beloved Daughter at bookfun.org. (Note: You don't have to register to vote if you're on a computer. Sometimes iphones make you register first.)

22 comments:

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  2. Oh man, this was great! Thanks for sharing these - it gives me inspiration too, to keep going and I'm encouraged that I'm not the only one with a JuNoWriMo manuscript that looks like that!

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    1. Thanks Amanda! Nice to know I'm in good company too!

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  3. Don't worry... first drafts always have loads of mistakes.. it's all about getting the story down:) Just keep going.

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    1. Thanks so much! I appreciate the encouragement.

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  4. This made me laugh SO hard, mostly because if you change the names, I've made every single mistake you listed! In fact, I just went back and fixed an embarrassing number of typos in my (already published) self-published book. How did I miss them the first time? God only knows.

    Lesson #2: if you're an indie author and have the money, hire an editor!

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    1. Tee-hee. Glad you laughed! And yes, I agree it's way more embarrassing to find the mistake AFTER publication!

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  5. If you haven't read, Bird By Bird, check it out. It helps you feel better about all these first draft mishaps. I give you a lot credit for writing and fast and hard. :)

    http://www.miaceleste.com/?p=393

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    1. Thanks Mia! Hope you're having a great writing week too!

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  6. Ha ha that's so funny Alana. Really amusing - I especially liked the one 'his heart hadn't stop beating since he entered the room'. Although I tend not to have errors quite like those in my work, it does make for some fun, doesn't it? Sounds like you got a laugh out of it anyway.

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  7. LOL Thanks for the giggle! You're not alone, I've done all of these a few times!

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  8. I love this! I think we all have moments like this in our first drafts (don't we??? *looks around room nervously*)
    His heart hadn't stopped beating since he entered the room... that is fantastic. Glad to know I'm not alone and thanks for making me smile :)

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    1. That's the one that probably gets me laughing the most too!

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  9. This is great! lol. We've all made these kinds of silly mistakes. You're brave to share. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks Michaele! I really needed a laugh that day so I'm glad I had these to pull out.

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  10. Oh Alana, this made me giggle this morning. I think it's great you shared them because we've all been there! Just loved blind Mr Tong looking out the window and those redundant redundancies. :-)

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    1. hehe, poor Mr. Tong might have enjoyed that view too. If he could have seen it, that is!

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  11. Absolutely awesome!
    I haven't read any of my JuNo work yet, I wonder what I will find.

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  12. It seems that old failures are a recurring theme this week. I always like to use them as examples (to myself) of how I'm getting better, at the very least. And just think, someday you'll look back from the front seat of your G-series Mercedes or whatever and laugh at how you used to struggle. At least, that's what my husband tells me.

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  13. Great post. Sometimes I find some real doozies in my manuscripts, too, and I can't believe they let me graduate from middle school! Thanks for joining us ;-)

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