Happy IWSG day! IWSG stands for ‘Insecure Writers Support Group’ and hundreds of writers participate every month, blogging writerly posts on an optional question or going rogue on other writing topics. Inkslingers of every kind supporting each other and building community. You can click here to see the other blogs and perhaps sign up yourself.

iwsg

A story is born in my mind and scribbled out on the pages of my notebook.

I tingle with excitement. I love this.

Words get crossed out. Notes appear in margins. Something is circled – should I delete this? Characters disappear. New ones take their place, or not.

I suppress a thrill. This is becoming an excellent story.

I type it into a document. Hmmm. That part doesn’t sound right. Words get rearranged. A new sentence replaces an old one. A plot hole is revealed. I fill it in and try to smooth the edges.

Oh, I don’t like that. This is awful. What was I thinking?

I put the story aside, but I still think of it. My subconscious mulls over possible solutions. It might be days, or weeks, or… months.

I know it will come. I acknowledge it might take a long time. Deep down, I worry. How will I build a body of work if the quality I’m working toward takes this long? When will my process come faster? Surely it doesn’t take other writers this long.

It does, though.

I work, I read, I follow my favourite writers. Quite by accident I come across a dozen statements in a single day, writers I admire mentioning the few years it can take to birth a story from start to finish. From that first draft to the one which gets accepted. I am normal, I realize, surprised. I am on the right track.

Keep writing. Keep going. We’re all doing fine.

23 thoughts on “IWSG: rough drafts”

  9. Jennifer — It’s 2:00AM. The idea that just flashed through my half-sleep was too good to let escape. That is exactly why I keep a writing pad on the night stand. In the dark, without waking the wife, I scribble enough to remind me in the morning.

    By the light of day what I find first looks like scribbled nonsense, big letters written on top of each other. When I finally sort out the cryptic midnight message I am left to wonder why I ever thought it was so special.

    Yet every so often one of those ‘great ideas’ gives birth to a worthwhile blog post….enough to keep me writing in the dark. After all, if you have the itch you have to keep scratching. Good luck in 2019.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Hey there fantastic blog! Does running a blog such as this take a lot of work?
    I’ve absolutely no expertise in computer programming but I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near
    future. Anyway, if you have any suggestions or tips for new blog owners please share.

    I understand this is off subject but I just needed to ask.
    Cheers!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment