The first draft of Project BB is here at last. Well, almost. I’m in the very last chapter of the book, so the end is as in sight as it could be. I had hoped to be done completely by the end of May, but I think hard dates set for creative goals can be a tricky thing. Deadlines are important, but not always achieveable, even if you try your hardest to get there. You do need to send manuscripts and do all sorts of things by these deadlines, but when you’ve set them for yourself, don’t get too disheartened if you don’t get there. And I’ve gotten pretty close to what I had set myself, I just didn’t reach that last little goal, missed it by a couple of days (I hope).
It was a tougher journey than I had anticipated. Things arose throughout the story, and in my own life, that made it a little tricky to complete at times. Perseverance is really the story behind this first draft, because there were multiple times I was ready to put it down, move onto something else, give up, and I told myself, no, keep going, you’ve got to get this done.
In that regard, I’m quite proud that I’m so close to the end of this first draft, knowing the struggles that have led to that final line being written. I do truly believe perseverance is a crucial skill to have in your arsenal. Sometimes, it’s hard to know if you have the traits you need to get through to the end, if you’ve got what it takes. Then, when you get to see that you do have what you need, or at least enough to get you to the next step of wherever you’re going, it’s incredibly affirming, and also quite relieving too.
So, what does come next for this (almost) finished first draft? I am a firm believer that drafts need time to breathe, because you do not get to see things in a macro perspective if you’re always in the micro. But how much breathing room is dependent on the story, how many drafts in you are, deadlines, how you’re feeling within yourself as well as a host of other factors. There’s no hard or fast rule for something like this, more just how you’re feeling and what you think would be best for the story.
It’s not one I want to leave for too long. There were a lot of things that changed as the story went on, from plot points to characters themselves, so the start of the draft looks very different to the end in terms of arcs and even characters that exist in the first place. With all that change going on, it definitely isn’t the most cohesive draft in the world. Then again, what first draft truly is?
With these changes, I’d like to get back into the story and iron everything out so it does become more cohesive, and so that characters who exist by the end of the story actually exist at the beginning too. Or, at the very least, characters do things that make sense, because traits and personalities changed as the story went on, for the betterment of the overall picture, of course. It just means who they are the beginning of this draft doesn’t really compute with who they are the end, and not because they’ve gone through some essential arc, but simply because they needed to fit a different purpose for the plot. So they need that adjustment so the story is a cohesive thing.
Drafting is all about those changes, about seeing these things that would make the story stronger. It means more work when you go back through it, but that work is so important for improvement, and drafts need to improve every time. Sometimes those are big changes, like plot developments or the journeys characters are on, and sometimes they’re much smaller, like moving commas around or reordering some sentences. I’m definitely in the former stage, and that’s where those changes are going to feel like real work, because it will mean a lot of rewriting and restructuring. But it’s all necessary. And if you put in the work now, it’ll be easier later (unless other major changes come along, which is always, always possible).
As these changes are substantial in some places, I don’t want to leave the next draft for too long, because I think it could be very easy to feel daunted by those big changes. If you’re daunted by the work set out ahead of you, you can keep putting it off until you don’t ever feel ready to tackle it. Getting back into it sooner rather than later means, for me at the very least, I feel more ready to tackle those hurdles.
The reason for that, I think, is because, having been in the story so recently, I’ll know it better. If I leave it, I might feel like I’m not totally familiar with it, with exactly where we’re heading or why I’ve done certain things and made certain changes, and that can be a major disadvantage. There are times where leaving that familiarity behind is a good thing, it allows you to see spelling errors and repetition a whole lot easier. But when you’re moving around plot points or adjusting a character’s personality, that familiarity can be really, really helpful, because you’ve just been where you’re going, and so you can see how to get there more easily. That’s why, with so many things changing, going back to the start again won’t be so daunting because it feels familiar, and the familiar is a very comforting thing.
But I will be leaving the micro, even if it’s just for a little while. There are aspects of the world that need some adjusting, some more research that needs to be done. That’s stuff that I can get on with in this break, to make sure I’m even more prepared when I head back in.
Other things I’ll be doing are potentially re-entering other stories I’ve got on the go, maybe even completing a draft of another project that’s further along, if I feel like I’ve got that in me. I’ll be entering some more competitions, if I can find the inspiration and time to write towards those deadlines too. Maybe I’ll even take some time away from the world of writing. Nothing major, of course, but maybe even a week or two engaging fully in another hobby would have its benefits. Again, I don’t plan on it being a major break, I do envision trying to get another draft of Project BB done by the end of the year, but you do never know with these things, especially if the next draft gives me as much trouble as this first one has.
Those things aside, it’s a time for celebration, because any completed draft is a major success, whether it’s a messy first one or a smooth-sailing final one. And yes, this draft is not quite done yet, so I’ll save the true celebration for when that final word is written. But I’m getting ready to celebrate, and I think it’s important that, for any writer out there, you celebrate these things when they come up, because they are an achievement. There are so many people who never get to the end of that draft, and if you have (or if you’re just about to), don’t forget to congratulate yourself. Yes, there is always more work to be done, but the work that has already been done needs to be acknowledged too, never forget that.
Robyn x
R. A. Howard 