Draft 2 - That Was Long
19-03-2016That was a long rewrite if I do say so myself. I mean seriously. I don't remember a rewrite taking me so long before.
I finished draft one of the third Filthy Henry novel in January. It has taken me until March 19th to get draft two finished and put to bed. There are, of course, a number of factors that contributed to this delay.
First of all I have started sleeping a bit on the bus. I guess that was bound to happen eventually once Nugget arrived. I just was expecting how tired you get while enjoying all the fun stuff of being a parent. Not that I'm complaining, but I am fairly sure that some patrons of the bus I get home have burst eardrums given I am (according to the ladyfriend) a bit of a snorer.
Secondly I had a few pages of notes for draft two. Whole sections to take out, names to be changed, jokes to be inserted. You know, the creative sort of stuff. It meant that I was doing a lot more 'new' writing than just fixing up the existing stuff. But sure that is all in the game really when it comes to writing. What was brilliant, to the author at least, at the start of a book can be chopped and dropped by the time the final draft arrives.
Thirdly I get easily distracted by other things. But ah well, having finished the game I was currently playing (at least the main story) the other night I can at least avoid my Xbox for a few weeks to help speed up draft three
Thankfully draft three only has a quarter the amount of notes for changes. I'm not entirely sure how that happened, since usually the second draft is the big changer. But as I worked through draft two I had some more ideas, little plot bits that I would like to change, that sort of thing. Not the worst thing in the world I suppose.
So long as I get it done by the end of June I'm golden for comic con.
Sure what could possibly go wrong.
Blue_jester