tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post6421703950925377957..comments2023-05-05T11:15:58.903+01:00Comments on Emma Pass • My Blog: First Draft DoubtEmma Passhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18209194238119830841noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-65293724881586983242011-11-17T19:25:55.575+00:002011-11-17T19:25:55.575+00:00Marcus, that's a great idea too. I think comin...Marcus, that's a great idea too. I think coming back to a manuscript with fresh eyes can help so much! As for dystopian YA, I can't really comment on publishers' tastes, but I know that I love to read and write it!<br /><br />Laura, wow, thank you! I'll be right over! :)<br /><br />Sangu, thank you too. I'm thrilled that ACID is going to be in such great company!Emma Passhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18209194238119830841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-15314235420913762052011-11-17T17:37:30.680+00:002011-11-17T17:37:30.680+00:00Oh, I suffer from such crippling self-doubt with f...Oh, I suffer from such crippling self-doubt with first drafts! It's maddening - but you're so right!<br /><br />Thanks for the shout-out, Emma, I can't wait to read ACID!Sangu Mandannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464061265952789628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-4049521034292938602011-11-16T22:34:19.169+00:002011-11-16T22:34:19.169+00:00Hi Emma. Today, my Blog was presented the Liebster...Hi Emma. Today, my Blog was presented the Liebster Award and I would like your blog to be one of the five with which to honour the same. It was today's post that caught my eye and led me to your other interesting topics.<br />Please go to my Blog at www.lauraejames.co.uk to read about the award and then collect it from my Photos page (page 2).<br />Looking forward to meeting you.<br />Kind regards<br />Laura E James.Laura E Jameshttp://www.lauraejames.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-75607925721411935852011-11-16T18:24:46.229+00:002011-11-16T18:24:46.229+00:00i tend to lose confidence when the first draft (of...i tend to lose confidence when the first draft (of a novel) has grown organically to about 30,000 words or so, and/or when the characters begin to proliferate and take over. more and more scenes pop into my mind but there's less and less structure. happens to me every time because i don't start with a structure (tried that too but it stifles me too much). my remedy: let the work rest, not touch it for a while; or change process dramatically: draw; get physical with the work...there are many ways to get away from the desk and computer and still keep at it. <br /><br />i'm interested in the fact that publishers like "dystopian YA novels" ...perhaps you'd like to take a peek at a recent panel discussion on "<a href="http://atticusbooksonline.com/the-occupy-movement-morality-in-the-arts" rel="nofollow">morality in the arts</a>" @ Atticus Books...but that is a tangent...i just wonder how life-affirming this dystopian fiction is.Marcus Spehhttp://marcusspeh.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-76418541256858946712011-11-16T14:41:40.273+00:002011-11-16T14:41:40.273+00:00My husband does the same, Dan! I think the wives/h...My husband does the same, Dan! I think the wives/husbands/partners of writers must be a very patient lot. As for the second form of doubt, I'll keep everything crossed that you have nothing to worry about. :)<br /><br />Thank you, Julia - glad you think so. It's quite a revelation when you realise your work doesn't have to be perfect the first time round, isn't it? (And thank you for the congrats!)<br /><br />Thank you, Abi! You're right, all the drafts are hard, but when I get to the 2nd, 3rd etc at least I (sort of) know where I'm going, because I've been there before. The terrifying thing about first drafts, for me, is that driving-without-headlights feeling I always get, even if I plan. But I guess that makes it exciting, too. And yes, anything caffeinated definitely helps!<br /><br />Laura, it's so cool that that technique works for you too. It's definitely like mind mapping! I find it very relaxing, and I love how it frees up snarled plotlines.Emma Passhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18209194238119830841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-5502372547545717162011-11-16T14:20:56.427+00:002011-11-16T14:20:56.427+00:00Hi Emma. Interesting read. I had to rethink some o...Hi Emma. Interesting read. I had to rethink some of my plotline and it was really giving me gip. In the end, I, like you, wrote down the what ifs and the how would they feel? questions and then proceeded to write down all of the possible answers. I hadn't tried this before, but it helped. I guess it was a little like mind mapping.<br />Kind regards<br />LauraLaura E Jameshttp://www.lauraejames.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-41081568966675618032011-11-16T12:51:37.054+00:002011-11-16T12:51:37.054+00:00Firstly - great news about the Bookseller preview ...Firstly - great news about the Bookseller preview of ACID - congratulations! Secondly - You're so right Emma, 1st drafts are hard, but then so are 2nd and 3rd.... etc. And, as you said, it has to be this way doesn't it in order to make our work stronger. I don't have a specific point where I lose confidence - it can be any time, and at numerous times - but it happens during the process of anything I write. To deal with it, I ask myself questions too, like: What's wrong? Why is it wrong? What do I want to happen? which helps. I also take a break, go back to my notes, refine characters or plot, and quite often, by doing that, I find an answer. Sometimes I write a scene which will go somewhere but I don't know where and that can provide answers to what should come before it too. Or I go away and write in another genre, then come back to it. And there's normally tea as well - that helps!Abi Burlinghamhttp://www.abiburlingham.talktalk.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-76559157791810223752011-11-16T10:53:52.748+00:002011-11-16T10:53:52.748+00:00This is really really great advice! I kind of came...This is really really great advice! I kind of came to it myself a couple of months ago when I'd been wrestling with a WIP that was about 1/3 done. I sat down and bit the bullet and realized it didn't need to be perfect and wrote the rest. Now of course I'm in revision/edits which is a whole other "real fun," as you say, but I'm done with the draft! <br /><br />p.s. HUGE congrats on the Random House announcement!! WOOHOO, can't wait to read!Julia Munroe Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09798422149542791454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169809609802357406.post-80016751084051607022011-11-16T07:45:07.201+00:002011-11-16T07:45:07.201+00:00My wife just rolls her eyes now when I say 'I&...My wife just rolls her eyes now when I say 'I'm not sure if this one's going to work'. Oh, and then there's the other kind of doubt - the one when you pass the manuscript on to your agent and spend the next few days thinking - 'I hope she likes this one . . .' I'm currently suffering both of these forms of doubt.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com