Monthly Archives: February 2022

Terrible First Drafts Reconsidered

A while back, I wrote a post urging writers to create terrible first drafts of their stories. I received some push-back from a writer/editor friend and figured I’d share that perspective.

In my post, I suggested you write first drafts in free-flow mode, unconstrained by your inner editor. Go at a breakneck pace, letting the passion and enthusiasm for the story carry you along. You can fix the manuscript in later drafts, but it’s difficult to get the passion back if you lose that.

My friend thought differently, and likened writing to making clay pots on a potter’s wheel. What follows are the points my friend made in countering my advice, summarized and put in my own words:

  • One process won’t work for all writers, and not even for the entirety of a single writer’s career.
  • I passed through many stages of writing, including creating horrible first drafts. It’s like shaping clay on a potter’s wheel. The first time, you end up with blobs of clay all over the art studio.
  • Over time, I developed the skill to shape the clay without spattering, to produce first drafts akin to what had been 3rd, 5th, or 7th drafts before. This new mindset took a lot of practice.
  • Even now, I sometimes have to sit back and gaze at my first draft with a critical eye to spot and fix flaws. But it’s usually no more than cosmetic changes—adding the final glaze to the clay pot.
  • Writing a good first draft keeps me from falling out of love with the story. It speeds the whole writing process and avoids the common problem of self-doubt and self-loathing some writers experience.
  • I no longer dread the editing process. Since I have less to do, it isn’t the colossal task it once was.  
  • I have conserved a writer’s most precious resource—time. In writing good first drafts, I now use the saved time to write the next story, or to edit the next anthology.
  • All writers, I believe, can and should try to reach this stage. After all, a good writer studies other aspects of the craft and strives to improve. Why not accept the challenge of writing better first drafts? You may find you can create a first draft at high speed, lost in the white-hot heat of inspiration, while still producing quality prose.
  • I suggest not leaving a lot of editing for later. Edit on the fly. That includes spelling, grammar, character name changes, whatever.
  • If you need to do some research, don’t leave that for later. Set a timer for ten minutes and do a quick Internet search. Chances are, you’ll find enough information for now, and the quick research will aid you in later sections of your story, too.
  • Some writers worry their voice, style, or tone will change as they write their book. Not me. I warm up for each day’s writing by reviewing the last few pages to get my brain tuned to the story, so my writing stays consistent. That review is another opportunity to perform minor edits, too.
  • If you work at making good first drafts, you’ll save both time and aggravation. You’ll no longer spend 90% of your time re-writing.

That’s my friend’s advice. I still think beginning writers shouldn’t beat themselves up about terrible first drafts. However, I agree it’s good to strive for more polished early drafts as you hone your craft.

My first drafts have improved over time, but this blogpost endured a few editing sessions at the keyboard of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 27, 2022Permalink

How to Incorporate Critique Comments

You sent your story manuscript—your precious package of prose—to some writer friends for comment. It’s come back, littered with suggestions. Your ‘friends’ just called your baby ugly!

Sad to say, you’d better get used to this. You’ll have to toughen up. First, before you tackle those comments, remind yourself that those friends were addressing your story, not you personally. They want you to succeed, and figure you’d rather hear the harsh truth from them than to undergo many dozens of rejections by editors.

Once you’ve taken that aboard, begin looking through the comments. Some may be editorial change suggestions. Others may be comments or questions in the margins. Still others may be overall impressions.

Whatever form they are, take each one seriously. After all, your friends went through your story as a reader will, word by word without knowing what comes next. The text might not conjure the same picture in their minds as you had when you wrote the story. They only have the words you’ve written, not the ideas you intended to convey.

What made sense to you might have confused them. The alternative interpretation you didn’t imagine might be the one they assumed.

On the other hand, maybe one or more of your friends didn’t read it as a reader might. If your group meets only once a month, they’re reading your story in short bursts separated by several weeks. What a typical reader might recall reading just last night, your friend read some thirty days ago, and forgot.

Some of their suggestions will be obvious, necessary fixes. They were right. You were wrong. Easy change.

Others you’ll have to think about. Did your friend just misread something, or forget something? Before you reject the comment, think about what you could do to help later readers understand the story better.

Often it helps to sleep on it. With a fresh outlook the next day, you might begin to see what your impulse reaction yesterday wouldn’t allow you to see. Your friend was right after all.

Sometimes a friend might be on to something, but her suggested fix won’t work either. You may have to create a third, better way, designed to address an underlying problem only dimly sensed by your friend.

If you had several reviewers, resist the impulse to play ‘majority rule.’ Every comment is worth your scrutiny, whether it came from only one person or several.

In the end, it’s your story. Your name goes on it, not theirs. You’re free to accept or reject any comment or criticism.

For more great advice about how to deal with comments from friends about your manuscript, read this blogpost by Morgan Hazelwood.

Yes, your friends called your baby ugly, in a sense. But this baby isn’t doomed to remain so. You can mold and change this baby. Perhaps your friends, through their criticism, will help to make your baby a wonder for the world to admire. Take it from the father of many an initially ugly baby—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 20, 2022Permalink

Physical Book, Ebook, or Audiobook?

As text delivery methods, physical (paper) books, ebooks, and audiobooks each appeal in different ways. But which provides the best reading comprehension and recall?

Of the three types, which one embeds the text more firmly in your memory? Perhaps there’s no difference at all, or perhaps the answer is different for each reader.

Few have researched this vital question. The only studies I could find compared two of these media, not all three, and they reached contradictory conclusions.

A 2010 study found students comprehended the written transcript of a podcast better than those who listened to it. In 2016, another study (funded, in part, by Audible.com) noted no difference in comprehension between those who listened to an audiobook and those who read the ebook version. A statistics-laden article by Rob Errera claimed that college students retained information better from physical books than from ebooks.

Confused? Me too. If we think about the factors that help us comprehend and remember things, perhaps those factors will guide us to the best of the three media.

  • Oral Story Hard-wiring. Before written language, our ancestors told stories orally. We evolved to listen to the cadence of words, the emphasis, the flow. That embedded preference might give audiobooks an edge.
  • Quick Review. As we read, we stumble at times. When that occurs, we go back over what we just read to understand it better. That’s much easier with printed text than with an audiobook, so that should favor physical books and ebooks over audiobooks.
  • Our Wandering Minds. Sometimes, while reading, we just zone out for a while. Getting back to the point before stopped paying attention is easier for ebooks and physical books than for audiobooks.
  • Multitasking. This can lead to the mind-wandering problem mentioned above. Multitasking is far more common while reading audiobooks than with the other forms, and is likely to reduce comprehension and recall.
  • Individual Learning Style. Breaking news: each person is different. Some prefer a story read to them (audiobook) and others prefer to see the text (physical book or ebook). To eliminate bias, any study should include people of both types.
  • The Story Itself. If we focus on fiction (my specialty), the vividness of the imagery, our identification with the characters, and the quality of writing—these all help us comprehend and remember good stories. This factor, of course, is independent of the delivery mechanism, but may override all the previous factors.

Considering these factors and the contradictory study findings, I’ll conclude (as all scientific studies do) by saying more research is necessary.

As a personal note, I read books by all these methods, in roughly equal proportion. The books I recall and comprehend best are those I believe are written the best, or that say something provocative and memorable. As for you, the books you’ll love and cherish most—in whatever medium—are those written by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 13, 2022Permalink

27 Ways to Celebrate Jules Verne’s Birthday

Just two more days until Jules Verne’s birthday on February 8th. He’ll turn 194. How will you celebrate?

I have a few ideas for you. For convenience, I’ll separate them into categories.

Low-Cost At-Home Activities

  • Read (or re-read) one of his books. Perhaps the best way to celebrate.
  • Join the North American Jules Verne Society.
  • Watch a movie inspired by one of Verne’s books. There are dozens to choose from, some available on the internet.
  • Toast to Verne with some French wine, and, as the wine takes effect, imagine taking an extraordinary voyage of adventure to some far-off, exotic location.
  • Play a game of whist with three fellow Verne enthusiasts. (Verne’s characters often played that game.)
  • Write your own fictional adventure story set in a place you’ve never been.
  • Imagine a trip back through time to meet Jules Verne. What would that conversation be like? What would you ask him? What might he ask you?
  • Do what Verne did in writing Paris in the 20st Century—imagine what your own city or town will look like a century from now, in the year 2122.
  • Find a globe or world map. Say you have to reach a specific location, but have only the latitude (as with The Children of Captain Grant), or just the longitude. Imagine the adventures you’d have as you searched along one line.
  • Imagine Verne time-travelled to 2022 and you could talk to him. What about our world would you show him first? What might fascinate him most?
  • Bake a birthday cake for Jules Verne. It could depict (or be in the shape of) a balloon, a submarine, a moon projectile, or anything else from his novels.
  • Compose, and sing, a birthday song for Jules Verne. For the lyrics, try to work in titles of his novels or character names.
  • Dress up as your favorite Verne character.
  • Write a poem in honor of Jules Verne
  • Write a letter to Jules Verne, wishing him a happy birthday.
  • Draw your own illustration of your favorite Verne character, vehicle, or scene.
  • Many people have their own version of what the Nautilus might have looked like. Pick your favorite from this website maintained by Michael & Karen Crisafulli, and draw your own.

More Involved Activities

  • Build a model of one of his vehicles. A search of the internet will give you many to choose from.
  • Build and launch a balloon made from a garbage bag, safely following instructions on this site, or this one. Imagine you’re aboard it, floating high in the air, for five weeks.
  • Use a 3D printer to print a Verne-inspired vehicle, or hire someone to print it for you.
  • Find a suitable cave and go on your own journey to the center of the Earth, (or as close as you can get).
  • Join a local model rocketry club. (Not the same as launching a manned projectile from a cannon, but it’s cheaper and safer.)
  • Visit the nearest submarine museum and tour its featured submarine. Note the differences between it and the Nautilus.

Activities for the Truly Dedicated

  • Jules Verne often set his stories on islands. Plan and take your own trip to an island somewhere.
  • Visit Verne’s birthplace and museum in Nante, France.
  • Visit Verne’s gravesite in Amiens, France.
  • Make a bet with some friends about how fast you can travel around the world, then win the bet.  

Later this year, the North American Jules Verne Society will have an anthology published under the title of Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne. Among the millions of people eagerly awaiting that event are you and—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 6, 2022Permalink