I’ve written about the struggles of writing and finishing a first draft before, like just this January! I gave myself three months to get as much done as I could. The third month is just beginning.
I’ve written several more scenes, words, chapters, so at least I’ve been at it. But have I gotten far enough along according to what I’d challenged myself to do via my previous blog post: “…hoping the first draft will be done by the end of that time period. If not, at least it’ll be close”? Well, I’m closer, but with all the scenes that have popped in my head, the paths my characters have taken me…it’s been a good trek, heading toward the end goal, but I wouldn’t say I’m on the cusp of writing “THE END”.
My WIP, What She Didn’t Know, is nearly sixty thousand words so far and is written from three different third person point of views, and perhaps this is why it’s taking me longer.
Both my novel, Passage of Promise, and my novella, Mourning Dove, are from one third person point of view.
With three different points of view, there is so much more to write because you have three different people’s lives to build character ARCs and intertwine their lives into a main plot of sorts.
So, I started writing What She Didn’t Know January 14, 2018. And what I’d said before in my previous blog on this: “I blame my half-done piece on working on my other done pieces” I’ve still been doing! For shame!
I did some research on how long most authors take to write their first drafts. I’ve read anywhere from a few weeks to six months. This definitely spurred me into thinking, “What am I doing with my work in progress?!”
I’ve got to just focus on this piece and finish it!
I needed some encouragement, so I wandered around websites for authors’ comments on finishing the first draft, and this one by Shannon Hale, a young adult fantasy author, absolutely struck and inspired me. I love it:
“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”
How long did it take you to write your first draft? What motivated you to get it done? If you’re not done, get to it! 😀
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Modest Musings 
Everyone is different, and every project is different. My biggest tip is to make sure you’re not editing as you write. Lots of times we tweak scenes in progress, and that will add to the overall drafting time. I wrote first draft for book 2 of my YA contemporary fantasy series during NaNoWriMo–so thirty days. However–I spent a good three months pre-writing (I call it Discovery) prior to that. So all in all, about four months to do all the things one needs to get a first draft on the page. But it’s fantasy, so more world-building, and it has three POVs, so that is a lot more complex than a single POV. I expected it would take about 4-6 months. Constructing it is another matter entirely!
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Hi, Kate! Thanks for the advice. Yes, I do tend to edit/tweak on the way. It’s hard to break that, but you’re right. I need to just write it. But really, right now, I’m working hard on my first novel. So, I thought maybe I need to just focus on that and getting that completely polished and ready for my editor and worry about the WIP after this. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
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