Hard at Work on AM 2nd Draft
As you can see, I'm hard at work on the second draft of the next novel. Already it's starting to take its toll. Novel writing isn't nearly as safe and easy as you'd think. Not nearly.
WIP Novel Draft 2 Progress
For me, a novel's 2nd draft is where the work gets done. The first draft is fun -- filled with flights of fancy, expedient shortcuts, and little regard for strict adherence to continuity. Going into the second draft, now that you have gotten acquainted with your characters and the story they want to live, it's the time to impose the craft aspect of writing onto your baby. I'm almost done with this stage. Here's what it looks like so far: What you see is an act/chapter/scene/extra-info breakdown of the second draft...minus the climax which I haven't yet finished re-plotting (in place are the criminally rushed scenes from the first draft). I also have a large reference to track timelines, characters, the world, etc. It looks oh-so dry and clinical. Well, yes and no. The second draft is where I act as reader and editor (in addition to writer) and try to take out the bits that don't need to be [...]
