My life has changed a lot in the past year.
I don’t have as much time to write as I used to, even though that issue will change by the end of the year. In one way, it’s good. I’m concentrating on promotion more, instead of just writing.
Where I feel this change most is with my newest work in progress – a tale of six friends navigating the 1990s. It’s taking me a long time to get the first draft finished. One reason is because I’m giving a ninety minute talk on writing a social media dystopian novel later this year. This has taken up much of my creative time.
Pictured in this blog are some of the characters for my newest WiP
So, this WiP is more like a Stephen King first draft.
I read his book on writing a few years back and was surprised at his method. His initial draft is simply written. No plotting. When he revisits it he sees what works and what needs to be expanded.
With mine, I’m getting the story down with the help of my chapter-by-chapter blueprint, but as I’m writing, I know this story can be so much more. And as I revisit it sporadically, I find I have to reread parts to keep the story on track, as I’ve already drifted from my blueprint.
Dialogue and basic story are what this draft is all about.
Usually I reread the previous chapter when I sit to write, but as this is happening in cafes now, I don’t have the quiet space to concentrate on these initial rewrites.
I know how to flavour this story in future drafts. Hey, it’s the nineties! I need a sense of more stability. More socialising without breaking the budget. More randomness as characters bump into each other out and about. More face to face philosophising rather than commenting in an online world that doesn’t exist yet.
I can’t wait for this first draft to be done so the real work can begin.
kevin klehr - author 