writerkatprasad

[writerkatprasad]

If anyone has questions around first drafts please ask! I'll do my best to answer/give tips.

Currently editing my first draft and have learned a lot.

[writerkatprasad]

I'll be doing my first read through of my first draft as a reader, which is insane! Like I'm reading my story as an actual book! I've given myself at least a month to take a break, but now. . .it's time!

What was it like reading your first draft for the first time?

[writerkatprasad]

on holding my 1st draft for the first time

I printed my first draft yesterday (400+ pages of madness) and it was the absolute wildest and surreal experience ever! Like. . .I'm holding my actual book in my actual hands!

And yes it's messy and terrible, first drafts will never be great. But, it's my creation in my hands and that's a beautiful and wonderful feeling.

I'm so glad I finished this draft. Even though there were days I did not want to, and felt like I couldn't. Days where I didn't know where the story was going and felt creatively depleted. I could say I did it. And whether it gets published or not, this is my proudest moment :)

Finish that draft ya'll. The feeling of holding it is unlike anything else.

[writerkatprasad]

on FINISHING MY FIRST DRAFT!

I finished my first draft *sigh* and it feels sooo good! I finished at 105k words.

As relieving as this feels, I also weirdly enough feel anxiety. I think because it was a part of my everyday routine, and now I have to give it a rest to edit with fresh eyes. And I can't seem to detach myself from it.

Regardless, here are some things I've learned from finishing my first draft :) :

Your first draft does not matter

Honestly guys, I've made posts on this before but your first draft doesn't matter. It doesn't matter as much as editing does. Everything will change, you don't need to overthink anything. This is how I finished my first draft, even through the hard and unproductive days. Accept it's not going to be your best, and move on. You might surprise yourself when you come back to it. I also live by this philosophy:

"A good author can write, a great author can edit"

2. Don't worry if your story/characters/world building isn't coming together. . .yet

It's hard because we want to get it all right and perfect in the beginning, but the truth is it won't be. And that's ok. Remember, spend more time on editing. That's where your story and characters will truly shine.

3. Write every day or as often as you can

A page a day is still progress. Keep going till you get to the finish line. Writing every day or every other day, will create discipline and the habit of writing. You want to be an author? Well write as often as you can because that's what authors do. You only get better through discipline and repetition.

4. Create a writing routine that works for you

It doesn't hurt to get advice and tips on other author/writer's writing routine. Whatever gets you to keep writing, that's the important part. But take it with a grain of salt because ultimately you know what's going to work for you. If you tried following other's writing routine/process and it doesn't work, that's fine. Find what works for you. Every writer is different, their brains work different and their lives look differently. Whatever gets you to write and finish that draft, stick with that.

6. Embrace Imposter Syndrome

It will come, and there are days it hits harder. Just remember, whatever your writing is worth it. Your voice matters, now more than ever. Your art is valuable, and deserves the world's attention. Your story is a culmination of your experiences, and that's what will make it unique. Doesn't matter what you're writing, doesn't matter how similar it sounds to another author's work. Your story is uniquely YOURS.

7. Comparison is the thief of joy, try to avoid it

I've struggled with this sooo much, boy do I know it! It's hard to avoid comparing yourself to other authors. I don't have great advice for this because I'm trying to learn myself how to work with comparison, but all I will say is your story has just as much value and credibility as any other author whose books you see on shelves. Also remember, every author writes a terrible first draft, that's why you never see those on the shelves. You will only get better, focus on making your story great.

8. Finished writing your first draft? Put it away.

I'm planning to forget about this manuscript for a good month or so. That gives me anxiety, but is also freeing. I can write other ideas that were popping up during this drafting process. Perhaps revisit old WIPs. Even catch up on some much needed reading (I typically don't read when drafting). But you want to create distance between you and your story. Come back to it with fresh eyes and edit. I'm so excited to edit, that's my favorite part and I love it more than drafting.

Please let me know if you have any other first draft tips!

Happy writing everyone! Enjoy the journey, celebrate where you are! :)

[writerkatprasad]

I can't believe I'm at 96k words. Let's get it!

[writerkatprasad]

old wips

I cannot wait until I finish this draft of my current manuscript and put it away. I've been revisiting old, unfinished WIPs and fell in love with them again, with the desire to continue because I have new ideas for them.

I can't wait for that to happen with my current WIP. Finish it, put it away, come back to it later, and fall in love with it.

Funny how that works, the more distance you put between you and your work, the more you fall in love with it again. Like old lovers catching up.

I've heard that you should love what you're currently working on. And I do agree, write what you truly want to write, since you'll be stuck with it until you're done. However, I think you really fall in love with your story when you come back to it. Like coming home again, coming back to something familiar.

Bottom line, don't discard anything you're working on. You may come back to it, and you may fall in love all over again.

Anyone have thoughts on this? :)

[writerkatprasad]

on giving yourself radical permission

I recently gave myself radical permission to absolutely suck at writing my first draft. I let it go. Forget perfection, focus on progress. Get something down, move on. That's been my mindset, and it's so freeing!

Give yourself radical permission to just suck at writing the first time around. You are holding yourself back. You are holding your story back.

Perfection is a barrier. It doesn't serve you in your writing process. As writers we think it needs to be perfect in order to be good. But when does it stop? When is it enough? Truth is, it never will be. There's always going to be something else you could fix and make better, there's always room for improvement. If there's room for improvement, perfection cannot exist in the same room.

There are so many authors who look back at their published books and still find things they want to tweak and fix. Can you imagine how their first drafts might've went?

Breathe. Let it go. Write that story. It's already going to be great because it's coming from you. It's shaped by your brilliant and messy experiences. You cannot perfect art, because we are not perfect.

Anyone have thoughts on this? :)

[writerkatprasad]

on writing advice pt.1

I can't stress this enough, but your first draft doesn't matter. I say this as I'm in the middle of my own first draft. And I realized it way later, but truly, the first draft doesn't.

Why?

Because your story is going to change anyway. Your characters are going to change anyway. You'll end up rewriting and revising subsequent drafts so much that it will no longer resemble your first draft.

So don't worry about making it eloquent. Don't worry about dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's. It will all change. The story truly comes out when you start rewriting. The characters truly begin to shine when you rewrite them. You will also understand your story better and the characters will distinguish themselves from each other.

The first draft is simply there to give you something to work with. Like clay waiting to be molded.

Don't spend so much time on your first draft. Write whatever you need to, put in fillers, and move on. Spend more time on editing and rewriting.

I feel like I literally am just talking to myself but if anyone else needs it too.

The first draft does not define your abilities as a writer :)

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[writerkatprasad]

On rereading a WIP after a month

Ya'll. . . I gave my second WIP a break for a month or so and started rereading it and once again, ASTONISHED that it was written by me. It's actually not bad, and I remember writing and hating every single word I wrote. Down to the punctuation placement. I criticized it so harshly only for it to not be totally crap! This is the first draft, so there's a lot of errors however, I can work with this.

When I wrote it I thought there is no way I could edit this cause it's so shit. But, actually I can :)

All this to say that sometimes, you don't know how good your writing can be when you're in the midst of it. Taking a break, coming back with a fresh pair of eyes can give your writing justice. I promise, it's not all that bad.

[writerkatprasad]

Writing tips from Donna Tartt

Don’t expect perfection on your first draft. “You don’t know what you’re doing for a long time. It seems like a huge mess because it is a huge mess. If you looked at the notes from early on in the writing of this book, you’d think, “This person is crazy. This could never be a novel.” That’s how all my books have felt when I started writing them. Trying to explain them to people was like trying to explain a dream.” 

Read - a lot. “I read a lot while I’m writing. If I’m feeling dull or uninspired, I’ll often reach for a book of poetry:  often an anthology of British and American poets of the 20th century that I’ve had since high school and am superstitious about. At night, I like to read something completely different from what I’m working on, to get my mind off my work–Ivy Compton-Burnet is always bracing and fresh, and so is P.G. Wodehouse.”  Refine your technique.

“To be good at anything, whether dance or painting or Olympic diving, you have to be really, really attentive to detail. And you also have to be able to forget about technique in the heat of the moment – you have to know your technique so well that it’s second nature. But you never stop trying to refine it.” Stick to the routine that works for you - even if it makes you antisocial. “I try to avoid social engagements. It’s hard for me to socialize or see people while I’m working. I sleep irregular hours and eat irregular hours and don’t like to be interrupted to go have dinner with someone if my writing is going well. Sometimes even knowing that I have a dinner engagement in the evening will keep me from working well during the day. I DO have a number of exuberant email correspondents though–writing letters to people at the end of the day is often my way of winding down from a day of work.” 

Write at your own pace.

“There’s an expectation these days that novels—like any other consumer product—should be made on a production line, with one dropping from the conveyor belt every couple of years. But it’s for every writer to decide his own pace, and the pace varies with the writer and the work.”

Use your writing to escape from the real world.

“Staying with the same characters for so long is fun, it’s fun seeing how they evolve over time, being in the same world for a long time. Once I’m there I like to stay there. It’s an alternate life, it’s wonderful. Of course it’s escapist.”

Drink. “I like a glass of whiskey in the winter, I like a gin and tonic in the summer, I like a glass of champagne anytime.”

[writerkatprasad]

on comparison stealing my joy. . .again

My manuscript is going well. It's my first draft and I'm at 58k words, so I got a ways to go.

Why is it that, I'm not even done with my first draft yet I keep comparing it to the published works of other authors?

I know the rational side of me keeps reminding me that published works have gone through rounds of edits and rewrites before it hit the shelves. And that no one's first draft is pretty. Yet I still do it.

I wonder why, even if I reason it out. It seems like a published novel of another author is a reflection of my own inadequacy. Even though I'm writing my first draft, I want it to be perfect. I know that's not possible, I can see it as I write my first draft.

It's a terrible spiral to be in. And no matter how times I'm able to get myself out of it, I fall back into it.

I love my story, I truly do. I want to continue writing and get better because that's my goal, is to be a better writer. Yet I just feel it's never going to be good enough for me.

Any thoughts on this?

[writerkatprasad]

“The cost of not following your heart is spending the rest of your life wishing you had.”

— Unknown

[writerkatprasad]

On writing as a craft

I've decided that publishing is going to be on hold, right now I just want to improve my writing. Get better at putting words together. Eventually I'll publish, but right now I'm not in a place where it would make sense. Writing is so important to me, and something I value as a skill and a craft. I want to get better, and I can't in good conscious, publish something for the sake of publishing even if it's not my best. I know I can do better.

I also read this incredible Ann Patchett article on writing, and it totally spoke to me as a writer and changed how I approach writing as a whole:

https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/04/27/ann-patchett-on-writing/

I don't want to rush anymore. I don't want to rush my writing for the sake of publishing. I would not be proud of myself, knowing I could've done better. In the meantime, let me get better :)

Anyone have thoughts on this? 😊

[writerkatprasad]

On hindsight being 20/20

Hello, long time no post. I decided to go back and read my WIP from earlier this year, the one I was seriously struggling with. The one I thought was absolute garbage, a shit pile of words and terrible sentences. The one I tried to force every trope that people liked to appease an invisible audience.

But when I went back to read it, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! How much I loved the sentences I strung together, how much I loved the imagery, characters, dialogue, etc. I was so surprised, that I couldn't believe it was ME who wrote that.

ME who seriously thought I sucked at every word I wrote down. ME who had so much anxiety over that WIP, thinking that nothing made sense. But looking back on it, I'm surprised that I wrote it as well as I did.

It was my first draft so it's infinitely far from perfect, but better than I thought it was when I was writing it.

Funny how it works.

Sometimes you need some space from your WIP to truly appreciate it. And looking back on your earlier works can give you that validation that you are truly a writer, and a damn good one.

So I guess my takeaway is, in the moment it may feel like the shittiest thing you're writing, but it probably is not that bad :) And you shouldn't let it discourage you as a writer, because I promise you, you're better than you think.

Anybody else go through this?

[writerkatprasad]

On gratitude is the best attitude

Just feeling and being grateful. . .for everything. I love writing, I get to write. I get to allow creative freedom flow from me. I get to bring to life this story, these characters from my head to page. And it's not perfect, but it's mine 😊

[writerkatprasad]

On not feeling like a perfectionist...for the first time

Crazy that as I write my current WIP, my editor/perfectionist brain is turned off...for the first time. I feel the creativity flowing, the ideas coming together. Like a tumbleweed, grabbing ideas as it rolls, the story growing bigger. It's exciting not having to make sure every word and punctuation is perfect. Not having to worry about grammatical correctness.

What really matters in the moment is the creativity. Not allowing the brain to have any barriers and letting the ideas seep through.

This is my favorite part about writing.

Thoughts? :)

[writerkatprasad]

On writing your passion

So my second WIP I've been writing it in my notebook, because I feel the most creative and productive that way. I've been typing it on my computer as I go. I'm currently at 14k words, and I wrote in less than a month so far.

For reference, it took me almost 2 months to write 16k for my first WIP.

My approaches to both stories were different, but the main difference is, my 2nd WIP, I'm writing what I truly want and what's authentic to me. What I truly enjoy and the story I want to tell.

My first WIP, I was forcing tropes and characters that didn't resonate with me. I looked at what was popular, what readers were reading and authors were writing and tried to force all of that in my story. Hence why it took longer to write.

My second WIP I'm writing what I want, what makes sense and resonates with me. What is entertaining to me, despite it not being mainstream.

Do I have dreams of being published and reaching a wider audience? Of course! But right now, I'm writing for me.

To all my writers/authors/storytellers....write for you first 😊