It all began in August, the dreaded second draft.
The first time you read the work you poured your heart and soul into can be a frightening thing. A damn frightening thing.
Is it shit? I mean, is it complete and total shit?
Well, it might be to other people but I dig it. And at the end of the day, amidst subjective opinions on all things artistic, if I dig it, then that’s really all that matters.
This second draft and I are war buddies.
Over the past four months we stuck it out together, on Sundays for a chunk of time and usually on Wednesday nights when I was ready to keel over from day job and Yoga teaching repercussions.
I worked over a couple of paragraphs, folded some laundry, then parked it back in my chair and continued. My dinner got cold on the table just so I could sneak a page in. Headphones blocked out everything from Sunday football to my guitarist wannabee apartment manager on the first floor (we live two floors above him, we often want to chop our ears off and be done with it), so I could manage an entire chapter.
Last weekend I trudged through the final pages and finished. Bam!
If it hadn’t been so arctic outside, I probably would’ve screamed out my window: “Second draft, you were my Everest. And, I conquered your ass!”
But, I refrained. And my neighbors shall continue loathing our noisy manager rather than yours truly, the dorky writer with too much enthusiasm.
I had to share the excitement with all of you guys though.
There’s still a long road ahead, including the next stage which I call “The Serial Killer Phase”. Nope, I don’t write about serial killers. However when it’s time to reference the serial killer notes sitting on my bedside table, that’s the phase I’m talking about.
Writers, you know the notes. Random thoughts and dialogue, groovy sentences from authors who know a thing or two, and of course, the crazed scribbling that happens in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning.
Obsession with a splash of insomnia. Hence, serial killer notes…
Lastly, there will be more editing, reading, editing, reading…until I can’t stand looking at it anymore. That’s where my in-law editors come in for moral support, right before I chuck the dissected, stitched, scarred draft promptly in the garbage.
Long story short, my vague release date for The Bra Game is set for late Spring 2014. So, yay for that!
Britt Skrabanek 
Congratulations on completing the second draft! As far as I’m concerned, everything past the first draft is sugar. I love the revising part. I suppose that makes me weird, but it’s the frenetic pace of the first draft that knots my muscles. 🙂
I understand. The first draft can be fun, but terrifying in its own way. My best tactic for my first draft is to power through and keep up the momentum. That seems to work!
Yep. And work on it each day, even if it’s only a couple hundred words. Keeps you in the story so you don’t lose time catching up.
Yay for that! Nice work, Britt. You’re inspiring me. 🙂
Thanks, Tim! And, yay for that!
Congratulations!
Thanks, Pamela!
Well done Britt. Assuming you’re happy with draft 2 (you are) then the rest ought to be fun.
Yes, the rest will be somewhat breezy now. Feels good to see it all coming together.
I get stressed attempting to edit my little blog posts so I find what you are doing is awesome 🙂
Oh, thank you! Blog post editing can certainly be stressful as we are unleashing our words into public. Those typos always seem to weasel their way in there, don’t they?
They do, they do. I read over some of my published posts and wince at the typos and mistakes that have been in the public domain for months 😀
Congrats on finishing your second draft. I had trouble with my second draft of my WIP this past summer. I think second drafts can be the most difficult because you have to tackle that hot mess of a first draft. Then I think it gets easier. So glad you’re over that hurdle!
Agreed. It wasn’t too messy at first, but once I got toward the end where I was blazing through…eek! I guess the writing process is different for everyone, but the second draft is definitely my biggest hurdle. (Cue fancy dance leap over the second draft and big finish…applause.)
Yay – I’m excited to read it after just reading Beneath the Satin Gloves! We had an upstairs neighbor like that who liked to stomp around in big heavy boots but at least that’s easier to ignore than someone trying to play music. I won’t even tell you how many drafts I’ve gone through on my novel. Mostly because I’m not even sure how many.
Awesome…thanks, Sheila!
Haha! We do have “Thunderfoot” upstairs now, so we’re surrounded on all sides. The winter emphasizes the noises since we’re all closed up. Thank goodness for those headphones!
Way to go! Love the photo of the notebook – mine look quite similar, non-linear and a bit crazy (meant as a compliment….) which is why they need to be handwritten. AND you got the laundry folded too!
Wow! I totally missed this comment of yours from forever ago…oopsy! Sorry, love.
Anywho, I’m glad I’m not the only one out there with serial killer notes! I thought, I’m either gonna post this and REALLY look nuts, or other people will have the same thing going on. Yay for craziness! : )
Yay!! So exciting! I can’t wait to read it and applaud your discipline and enthusiasm for rewrites and editing. I hate that part. A lot. Once I finish something, I’m ready to move onto the next thing. Makes blogging the perfect outlet for me, but I do like novel-writing, too, and need to devote more energy to the revision process.
Thank you and yes, it is very exciting.
I’d love to read one of your novels someday! You’re a fantastic writer with tons of adventures under your belt. Bet it would be stellar.
Well done and congratulations, look forward to reading it.
Thank you, Andrea!
Congratulations, Britt.
Thanks, Tom!
I love “serial killer notes”. I keep a notebook by the bed too. I’ve even written in the dark so as not to disturb the hubby. Good luck with the serial killer phase. You can do it.
Ooh, bedside notes written in the dark. Bet your serial killer notes look legit.