Sunday, April 17, 2016

Progress

I have been making progress in my writing. I will not list the areas of my life where I am not making progress. That would just be depressing. Writing though! There is progress there.

The biggest bit of progress is that I finished my second first draft of the play I am writing. No, that was not a typo. It really does say second first draft.

Why?

I can write on the computer. In fact, the novel that I am supposed to be finishing was written on the computer. However, the play's format made writing directly on the computer obnoxious. It was time consuming. Instead, I chose to write it in a black notebook by hand. The upside was that I didn't need to worry about format. In fact, I actually wrote in long strings with out any spaces between. That included character names, stage directions, dialogue. Just all running together. It was a good way to save paper! The second upside was that I could write anywhere and know exactly where I was picking up from. And all my notes were there too. Super convenient. I have these black notebooks now for all my current writing projects, four in total plus a book for general writing exercises and brainstorming.

Long story longer: My first draft was finished in the notebook. Then, I copied it from the notebook to the computer. It was a time consuming process and not a lot of fun. Fortunately, I finished the hand-written portion just before Spring Break. When I transcribed it from the notebook to the computer I also made changes. There were a lot of major changes, but there were still changes. So, my first first draft was in the notebook. The changes I made aren't really big enough to warrant calling the electronic file a second draft, so instead it is my second first draft.

Moving on. I submitted my play to several friends who I trust to give me good feedback, including my father. He turned around and gave me feedback the next day. He echoed some advice I had received from several people: do a reading so you can hear it in other people's voices. I just happen to have some people I've worked with who had said the same thing AND said they wanted to help. So I contacted them.

After a few more contacts and conversation I have a reading of one of my written works this Friday. It will just be the small group, no audience. But it's exciting. I'll take my little black notebook and just listen and take notes. It's a major step towards my success as a writer and it makes me grateful to know such wonderful people. I am also beginning to realize that writing is a double-side coin. The writing itself is often a solitary activity. You write alone. However, the success of my work is dependent upon the people I can get to work with me to make it better.

It's nice to have something to look forward to at the start of a new week.

And that's progress.