Brilliant first draft advice

I just read a great article about the first draft. Janice Hardy at The Other Side of the Story goes into some detail about how she approaches her first draft, and it’s a nice to see  that a soon-to-be published author will share some nuts-and-bolts advice about her writing process.

Among the many useful tidbits are the now-ubiquitous words “It’s totally okay to write a [terrible] first draft.” Those words, friends, is our carte blanche to write our hearts out. The first draft is not to see the light of day. You may deny its existence or you may speak of it in whispered tones. Others may hear rumors of it, but it is safely secured in a concrete bunker under Area 51 sandwiched between the Lost Ark and Bigfoot’s toenail clippings.

The whole point is: make sure there is a first draft to spread rumors about. Get it done by whatever means necessary. This is what cranking plot is all about.

What am I reading?

Just this last year I got back into reading again. Tech school and the day-to-day distractions of life kept me from reading for fun. But as a writer, reading is an essential part of the craft. We need it to understand what writing is, good and bad, and to focus on writing.

Without neglecting important things (and I’ll be writing about balance in a later post), I think I’ve found a way to get more reading into my life. The key is being prepared to seize all opportunities. Princess and I had an international flight in June; I read Stranger in a Strange Land on the plane. I try to work out every morning on the stationary bike; I am rereading the Foundation trilogy. I have a half-hour for lunch at work; I read I Am Legend, reread Feersum Endjinn, and have started Ringworld. Compared to the past few years, I’m doing pretty good the past year!

So, periodically I will post what I am reading and when I start a new book. I also hope to post a ‘retro review’ of any books I have re-read, or that are old enough to count as retro.

What am I reading now? Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov, and Ringworld by Larry Niven. The former is part of a bound trilogy that I started to read late last year, and so it’s a little awkward to carry around. I’m almost done with it. The latter is a paperback that fits nicely into my messenger bag and so is portable. That’s probably the only reason I’m reading two stories at once. But, it’s a relief to be reading again!