Comments on: I Believe, Sister! I Believe!

By: Roxanne St. Claire

Roxanne St. Claire — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:14:12 +0000

You know, I believe some books (and some plot arcs) are somehow more conducive to this style than others. And where your head (and deadline!) is can also affect your ability to do the discovery draft. Good luck with it!

LOL on Sloppy Copy. I think its Anne LaMott who called it a Shitty First Draft. I am going to pick up my copy of BIRD BY BIRD and read that chapter again.

By: Allison Brennan

Allison Brennan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:10:01 +0000

OH, Rocki, I edit as I go and both love and hate it. It’s NOT my natural writing style. I wrote the first five published books with one very rough draft, then go back and edit/layer/revise. I LOVE revisions just like you! But when I was on a crunch deadline for FEAR NO EVIL, I had to write fast and produce a clean manuscript. So I started editing as I go. It worked for that book. But it doesn’t work for all of them. It has NOT worked for FATAL SECRETS and it’s been killing me.

My next book I’m going to try the fast, get the book down on paper “sloppy copy” or “discovery draft” and then go back and revise. I hope. I think. I only have 6 weeks to write it.

By: Roxanne St. Claire

Roxanne St. Claire — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:39:53 +0000

Go ahead, Pam. Vomit – you’ll feel better. Srsly, give it a go. I’m so glad I did. R

By: pam claughton

pam claughton — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:05:35 +0000

Rocki,

Thank you. This was such a timely post for me. I’d been sailing along, then hit a rough patch that stopped me in my tracks. I’m going to try to just vomit my way through the rest of it…and clean up the mess after. That’s the fun part for me too…especially when I stumble across a note I left myself like ‘ick, or fix’ and see that its not quite as bad as I’d thought.

~Pam

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:40:59 +0000

Deal!

By: Jen Lyon

Jen Lyon — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:45:06 +0000

Heck yeah, my process hurts! I wanna repent my painful ways, but alas, I always backslid into revision hell.

But I’m seeing the light! I will repent, shunning revisions and rewrites for the glory of a fast discovery draft!

By: Roxanne St. Claire

Roxanne St. Claire — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:07:45 +0000

LOL, Karin, you are too funny, puking up rough drafts. It is liberating, I’ll give you that.

And Deb, no wonder you write so many wonderful books a year. I really do think the discovery draft increase productivity and decreases stress.

By: Debra Webb

Debra Webb — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:04:48 +0000

Yay! Rocki, you are a convert!! This is the way I have always, always written. For a short time in my “critique group” phase I tried it the revise as you go way–hated, hated, hated it! Polished my voice right out of the darn thing. Like you, if something’s really off, I go back and rework but that’s it! And I don’t do that often. You know so much more about the characters when you get to the end. This is great! I’m thrilled for you.

By: Karin Tabke

Karin Tabke — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:45:48 +0000

Welcome to my church! I’ve been puking up rough drafts since, well, since forever! I always write through, refusing to look back but making lot’s of notes along the way. I can’t edit as I go. It slows me down.

By: Rachel Hauck

Rachel Hauck — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:36:10 +0000

Oh, me, too! Once she likes it, I don’t care about anyone else! LOL.