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Second Draft
Copyright 2017 Christina M. Guerrero
DEDICATION
N/A
STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Not yet.
ABOUT THE DRAFTS
Nothing yet.
It was time to write the second draft of the short story.
If I were an athlete, I would have been warming up. If I were a chef, I would have been gathering and organizing my ingredients. If I were an actor, I would have been preparing my voice and my person for the performance.
As a writer, my first step was to think about the first draft: going over it in my mind. How did it feel? Had I gotten the basic idea across, from the mysterious creative process in my brain, to the paper and to the computer? The first draft is a lot like a scene in the movie “Amadeus” (1984) when Mozart informs a client, “It’s already all there. In my noodle.” He explains that the rest is just getting it out and onto the paper. I find that to be true of writing. It’s all there, and it’s ready to go. The first draft was s all there, in my head, at one point. It got out and into a first draft. And now it was time for draft two.
That first draft was rather easy. It felt good in my mind, and it had a beginning, middle and end. After thinking about it, I took out the first draft, and looked at the physical copy, and read it carefully and slowly, from beginning to end, both as myself, and as best as I could as someone who had never read it. First thoughts: the story started rather wordy and formal, like an encyclopedia entry. Then I noticed the words had a rhythm, and at times, appeared to have verses and choruses, like a song. That would be my musical, mathematical brain interpreting and communicating. Stories are not math; they are complex and should be unpredictable. Second: Like a lot of my fictional projects, it was a time-travel story. Keeping the details straight and consistent would be a chore; but would be a good and honorable chore. Third: Remember not to encourage reckless behavior. Sometimes I read books and novels and think about the ideas other writers give, or hint at, that are not quite safe. Next: Was there more to the story? I did not know yet. Finally: The first draft had an inspirational ending. Did I want to retain that? I wasn’t sure.
Next, research crossed my mind. I did not have first-hand knowledge of everything in the story. I decided to wait, and see what the second draft had to tell. Perhaps not much more research would be needed.
After that, the inspirational angle became important again, this time as a whole. If it would be that type of story, then the whole project would be affected. Did I want to write a G-rated, wholesome thing? I decided no, but the words and the plot and the themes would not be overtly beyond PG-13. It might have a fairly other-worldly, perhaps heavenly ending, but I would not be presenting a specifically family-friendly story.
With that in mind, I began writing the second draft.
It hurt at first. There are things in life that affect the brain’s ability to create. Through no fault of my own, my creativity was slowed for a while. I’ve been working as hard as possible to repair the damage. The process is ongoing. When I look through my manuscripts, I can see the difference in my writing before and after the offensive developments. As I began reading and re-writing, it was like walking through darkness without sight. After a while there was a bit of light, which made things somewhat easier.
It was easy to read, and at first correct. Then the work began. The story needed more of a beginning, and more introduction of the characters. I considered advice I have heard through the years about fiction and summarized it into a few words: We need to care about the characters so we want to finish the story; I cared about them; do you? How to encourage the reader to care enough to read to the end?
One way: try to please everyone. Probably not going to happen. Another way: write only for myself, and hope enough people like it. Or somewhere in between: use my training and experience to write for both sides, but don’t expect everyone to read my stuff and be entertained.
With this science fiction story, I decided that character description and development would be sufficient at the moment. Some might identify; some might not but still read on. Their relationships still needed to be clarified; I wrote around that. This led into the first time travel experience, which made sense to me, but which read once again like some sort of word math. I went through the scene line by line and added details that would advance the story, and took out what was just filler. I was mostly happy, then read from the beginning.
This was the routine,: read, rewrite a little; go back to the beginning; read to the last edited bit; rewrite a little; go back; etc.; just a little at a time.
More issues cropped up: More research would be necessary, probably a moderate amount, and then included in the story: not to overwhelm but to entertain. There were things happening in the middle and at the end that had no beginning. There were ideas sprinkled throughout that could be expanded.
And then, even though I considered all of this difficult, the real difficulties began: How was I going to proceed from the middle to the end? In the first draft, it seemed easy. But no, it was not. There were many questions, and if I was thinking them, the reader might think them.
While considering this, the creativity kicked in: filling in pages and pages. These words provided even more of a back story, should I choose to use it, and more material to link the middle and the end. These words gradually and mysteriously led to several possibilities. I used all of them, understanding once again what a red herring is, and only one led to the end. I asked questions in the story that the reader might be thinking, as part of a character’s thoughts: Why is this happening? How can it be solved? As I got closer and closer to the end, I felt everything, saw everything, sensed everything in the story, and when it was time to write THE END, it took a while to feel somewhat normal again.
When I finished, I wondered: Is this the last draft? No, it was not. The dates needed to be lined up, and a few other details, including the title.
I put the manuscript aside for a few days, and let it simmer.
When I was ready, I took it out and prepared to read and edit the second draft.
First thoughts: Pacing. The pacing was better. It could slow down towards the end. But otherwise okay. Second: Dates, names, and historical details needed to be consistent. Third: This could be developed to be just a bit more ... well ... pleasantly complicated and mysterious. Fourth: Go ahead and have the characters do what they want. It’s fiction! Fifth: Develop your time travel theory and be prepared to defend it. Sixth: Spell-check. Peoples’ names are spelled multiple ways. Seventh: A few leftover questions needed to be addressed, asked and answered.
I was happy with the second draft, and was starting to miss it. Soon, it would be time to re-write.
As I began, I had one last question: What do I want the reader to think or feel upon finishing the story?
It took a long time to answer that question.
Finally, I figured it out.
I want the reader to feel wonder. Like when you’re watching fireworks on a summer night ... or viewing the Milky Way in a dark sky ... or upon receiving good news.
I want the reader to feel the way I felt when I finished reading the second draft.
With that in mind, I began editing.
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