Writing a First Draft - when the magic or the rubbish happens, By Tamsin Cooke

I am writing a brand new story at the moment and am loving seeing where the characters are taking me. I haven’t planned too much this time (please see my last post to understand why). During this first draft, I have journeyed through many different emotions. It all depends on how easy the words are flowing. 

 

1)    The Dream Scenario – unfortunately this happens very rarely. 

You sit at your computer and the words pour through your fingers onto the screen. Time passes in a blur, and you’re like a writer possessed, possibly in a dream like trance. Waking up from it 30 minutes, an hour or two hours later, you read what you’ve written and can’t quite believe it. These scenes must be in line for a Carnegie Medal or a Booker Prize. You have a created a masterpiece.

 

2)    The Realistic Dream Scenario – happens more frequently

You sit at your computer and the words pour through your fingers onto the screen. Time passes in a blur, and you’re like a writer possessed, possibly in a dream like trance. Waking up from it 30 minutes, an hour or two hours later, you read what you’ve written. You are absolutely gutted. You thought it was going to be good, but this is rubbish. You might as well press delete. But something stops you. You suddenly see the gem in there, hiding beneath the rubbish words. You can edit this section - edit it a lot - but it will work eventually. 

 

)         3) The Midnight Idea - happens occasionally

In   In the middle of the night, you wake up with the solution to your plot hole or a fantastic twist that will raise the stakes in your story.  You should write it down, but you’re so warm and snuggly. Plus the idea is that good, there’s no chance you will forget it. The following morning, you’re brushing your teeth, and the ideas come flooding back. You dump your toothbrush and rush to your computer. The words flow … (See scenarios 1 and 2 to learn how the scenes work out.)

 4)    The Midnight Idea Gone Forever – happens a little more than occasionally

In   In the middle of the night, you wake up with the solution to your plot hole or a fantastic twist that will raise the stake in your story.  You should write it down, but you’re so warm and snuggly. You wake up, knowing you solved the biggest crisis in your story, but you can’t remember it. It’s at the tip of your mind … if you just think a little more. Maybe if you go on Twitter or Facebook or play Solitaire. Maybe if you take a nap, that should reawaken the idea. Nope - your award winning idea is gone forever!

5)     5) The force yourself to write scenario - happens a lot.

Y   You sit at your computer, staring at the blank screen or maybe you reread the section you wrote last. What comes next in your story? An idea slowly begins to form, and you put your fingers on the keys, but you don’t press down.  ‘Come on,’ you tell yourself. ‘It doesn’t matter if they’re bad. You can edit them later.’ Ok, maybe it’s not quite happening right now. You’ll take a quick glance at Twitter. And it would be rude not to look at Facebook as well. Plus you really should know what’s happening in the news. An hour later, you’re ready to start again... except the dog needs walking and the dishwasher needs emptying. 

But now you’re ready … after making another cup of tea of course. You force your fingers to write some words. It’s painful and excruciating, but at least sentences are forming on the screen. In fact paragraphs are beginning to flow. You decide not to reread them now, just in case they are in fact rubbish. Instead you keep writing and feel rather pleased with yourself. Perseverance worked. And who knows, tomorrow you might discover you’ve written a masterpiece?

 6) Failing to force yourself to write - happens more often than I like

You sit at your computer, staring at the blank screen or maybe you reread the section you wrote last. What comes next in your story? An idea slowly begins to form, and you put your fingers on the keys, but you don’t press down.  ‘Come on,’ you tell yourself. ‘It doesn’t matter if they’re bad. You can edit them later.’ Ok, maybe it’s not quite happening right now. You take a quick glance at Twitter. And it would be rude not to look at Facebook as well. Plus you really should know what’s happening in the news. An hour later, you’re ready to start again... except you need a fresh cup of tea. And the dog needs walking, the dishwasher needs emptying.

After all of this, you try again. You manage to eek out a few words, but when you reread them, you stop. You’re heart sinks. 

So you decide not to write today and desperately hope that tomorrow the words will flow …

Tamsin Cooke

Author of The Scarlet Files Series and Stunt Double Series

Website: tamsincooke.co.uk
Twitter: @TamsinCooke1