The First Draft of Anything is Always Crap

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Good afternoon, everyone. It amazes me that so many people assume that being a writer is easy. It isn’t. It also surprises me that most seem to think that all one has to do to become a writer is to sit down, type a book and voila! You have a finished product. Wrong! It isn’t that simple.

My take on being a writer is this: The first draft of anything is always CRAP! Always! The second and third drafts aren’t so hot either. You don’t just sit down and write a book, expecting to produce a finished product. You rewrite it several times, then you edit…and edit…and edit. And when you edit, it takes more than correcting misspellings, bad punctuation and capitalization. You must also tie up any loose ends that you may have left in your story.

Editing takes repetition. When you edit, your eyes will get tired and you will often miss a few mistakes. Once your eyes get weary, you have to get up, leave it alone for a while, then start again with fresh eyes.

Next, you must publish your work. If you choose to go the traditional route and find an agent. Know that you will get a thousand rejections before you find an agent willing to promote your work and that is, IF you ever do find one. If you go the indy (independent) route and decide to self-publish, you will need to be your own agent and promote your own manuscript.

Writing takes patience and hard work. Being a writer can even frustrating at times. However, I still love and respect the craft! Writing is my passion…my first love and I will never stop doing what I love!

0 thoughts on “The First Draft of Anything is Always Crap

  1. Alex Wilczewski says:

    I’m a sophomore in college and my teacher is a huge proponent of editing and revising work handed to him. Much like you he believes that writing is an ongoing process full of mistakes and corrections but one that is very rewarding as well. I agree with you that revising your writing can be extremely frustrating for a long time, but eventually you learn to accept that nothing is perfect at first and that you need to devote more time than you want to it. I enjoy writing I’ll always do my best when an assignment is given. I’m glad you wrote this as it’s given me something to think about and it’s nice to know I’m not alone in my writing dilemmas and successes.

    • cheriewhite says:

      This is awesome, Alex! I am so glad that my post helped you to feel better about your writing dilemmas. Although, it can be aggravating, it happens to the best of writers. I wish you the best of luck in college and in your career after school. Have a wonderful day.

  2. Annie Lynn says:

    Hey Cherie…I passed your above blog on to my son, who I see read it and responded back! How cool…he hardly ever reads what I send him..haha…… You should know that you are speaking to a kindred spirit in Alex. He was bullied in Middle School for several years, and he discovered what you advised others to do…become good at what you like or love to do, and you will be successful. Also he is proof that if you can get past the bullying with help from friends and adults who can assist you and support you emotionally, you can go on and make your mark and contribution to the world. I would love for you to hear the song I wrote and recorded with Alex and a few other children he was in school with, who were also bullied. this song was so empowering for us to record and we even got played on the radio, and then the school announced the kids’ big news and the bullies were exposed (at least their behavior was) and they were livid. It was sweet Justice. Anyway, here is Alex, then age 11 singing with me on “STOP THAT! – A Bullying Prevention Anthem”. Talk to you soon. gee…you helped two people today!💝. Peace, Annie🎵 https://youtu.be/owD6g17ivdY

  3. cheriewhite says:

    How awesome is this?! I am so glad that I was able to help, Annie. I am always excited when former targets of bullying succeed despite their tormentors! I wish you and Alex all the success, love and happiness that your hearts can hold. Sweet justice it was! Thank you and Alex for giving the bullies what they deserve and speaking out for other victims.

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