9.03.2011

Brain Vomit (aka First Drafts)

Vomit doesn't usually conjure up pictures of happy people. Trust me, I've got two kids.

Brain Vomit, however, can work. (if you don't know, bv=first draft)

This is something I need to remember (erica speaking). I spit out my first vomit draft without a care in the world - because I didn't know any better. Four months for a book - sure, no problem. But then, it took a long time to edit. And no, it's not published. But the words flowed. The voice was there. I learned a lot from the process. My first draft turned into something I loved - even if it didn't work for the commercial world (yet).

Recently, I vomited up half a book. Then I rewrote it because even though it had a ton of voice, it went in the wrong direction, plot-wise. Suddenly, I stalled. The thought was there. The plot was there. The voice was there. I was - oddly - not there.

Was there a lesson to learn? Why yes, there was (is).

Vomit drafts are good. They prove you have an idea. Revisions can take care of the mistakes. Go You!!

9 comments:

  1. My brain vomit is my initial outline. Then I fix it and get everything golden before I go to the novel itself.

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  2. Thank you -this helps! I am 3/4 of the way done vomiting up a first draft and I was feeling not great about it so far. But that's what revisions are for, right?

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  3. Of course there's nothing wrong with vomit drafts. That's what second drafts are for :).

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  4. I used to vomit first drafts up by now I force myself to outline first. There's less nausea that way. ;)

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  5. This image may be too gross, metaphorical or otherwise, for me to comment on. :/

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  6. I've been embracing first drafts more and more.

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  7. Thank you thank you thank you. I so needed to read this today. I've been fighting the vomit, hating it as it comes out. (Wow, that sounds gross, doesn't it?) I need to learn to just let and remember that I can fix it later.

    PS--In your YA Campaign group. Nice to meet you!

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  8. I love vomit drafts...you can really get great nuggets from them and in the end, use them for something else:)

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  9. Haha, I like that term. Definitely stealing it. My (nearly) final draft for my current manuscript is SO far away from the vomit draft, that it's sometimes hard to remember the original story idea. But without that first draft, I wouldn't have the beauty I have today. Good luck to everyone working on a vomit draft or former vomit draft!

    <3 Gina Blechman

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