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Confessions of a First-Drafter
By Angela Giles Klocke

Hi, my name is Angela and I am a first-drafter. Yes, thank you for
the applause and for not booing me for using the same line so may of
us often use when confessing to a habit or problem. Or is this a
problem? I am not sure of all of its blessings yet, but I am sure
part of this is a problem.

First, what is a first-drafter?

When you sit down and write an article that ends and is complete
without further need of editing, besides perhaps a misspelling here
or there, you could be a first-drafter. While some writers write and
rewrite and rewrite again, a first-drafter writes it and is done with
it. We don't often look back. It's written, read over and either
submitted without much delay by e-mail, or printed and quickly sealed
in an envelope.

Sounds nice, doesn't it? The problem with being a first-drafter is we
rush. Or, we are perfectionists as we go.

The Rusher is used to tight deadlines, so they write fast and
furious, only sometimes to later find out they left out some vital
important parts. This isn't always the case, but when it is, it can
be scary. The Rusher has many times become one because they were
reporters at some time in their life.

The Perfectionist cannot make it through a whole sentence if they
make one simple mistake. The need to have a sentence read perfectly
almost reaches obsession. In fact, many first-draft perfectionists
can take twice as long to complete that first draft as compulsive
rewriters do. When typing along and one simple misspelling is made,
the perfectionist must, must, must go back and correct the spelling.
It is often advised to ignore errors when in the heat of writing, but
the perfectionist cannot do this.

I happen to fall into both of these categories. My background as a
small-town newspaper reporter taught me how to write well and
quickly. But it also instilled in me a need to make it right the
first time. And to make it right the first time required fixing
errors along the way. How does this affect me now?

It's a blessing sometimes because I can write something and be done
with it. Other times, though, such as when I am writing on my book, I
am hindered by the need to make it right the first time through.
Stopping to correct a misspelled word or weak sounding sentence
causes me to lose the momentum that was building for the scene I was
writing. However, no matter what I try to avoid this, I am not able
to. It is in me and does not seem to want to leave.

What can you do if you are a first-drafter?

First, just accept it. If you are one, you are one, plain and simple.
Since I don't know how to help myself with this "problem", I'm not
sure how to tell you what else to do but accept it. Sure, you can try
to get out of it or pretend like this isn't one of your own
afflictions, but denial will get you no where. Just admit it and move
on.

One piece of advice handed to me once was if you are able to turn
your computer monitor to a point where you can't really see the
screen, do that and then type away. Type and type until you've run
out of something to say or run out of time. Then, hit Save and close
the document. Don't read it or even glance over it. Doing so will
only send you into a frenzy of need to clean it up right then and
there. Don't. Save that for an editing day. For now, just leave it
be.

There. Simple enough, right?

Yes, it's really great advice. Turning down the screen brightness to
where you can't see the mistakes your flying fingers make is great
for many, but it didn't work for me. I couldn't handle it. So I do
have a problem, but I'm here admitting it and accepting it. I might
not be able to change, but you can Гўв‚¬В¦ if you want. Otherwise, join me
and we'll first-draft our way all the way to the best-seller's list.

Angela is the owner of Klocke Publishing, the site that publishesseveral popular zines and newsletters. http://klockepresents.com
This article first appeared in the zine Inside the Mind of a Crazed Writer, available free by sending an e-mail to
CrazedWriter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Other great articles:

HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK USING THE AMAZING POWERS OF YOUR CREATIVE IMAGINATION
by Craig Lock

Just thought I'd share a few thoughts on how to use
the amazing powers of your creative imagination to the
fullest in overcoming "writer's block"...

Letting you know that I start all my novels with a
BASIC PLOT (plan) and don't have much idea how it's
all going to end up ("pan out". I don't use techniques,
like "mindmapping" and have found that by writing one
chapter at a time then simply "letting go", the story
simply flows onto the next naturally (at least I think
it does!).

When I get "stuck" for a while, I take a long walk
along the stunningly beautiful beaches here, which really
relaxes me and then the thoughts simply "flow into my head.”
This takes hold and I get a clear vision of the next small
step ahead (always)- through the amazing powers of the
subconscious mind , which is where our INSPIRATION comes
from... and this leads, impels (nice word!) us into ACTION.

Hope these thoughts may be helpful to you in whatever endeavour
(creative or otherwise) you undertake.

Craig Lock

Creative Writing Course
http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/creative.html

The various books* that I "felt inspired to write" are available at:
http://www.novelty-gift.com/ebooks.html

* Hard copies and e-books: Fiction and non-fiction, novels on South Africa, travel, humour, inspiration, self help and money books

"The worlds smallest and zaniest bookstore near the bottom of the world"

THIS ARTICLE MAY BE FREELY PUBLISHED.