My crappy first draft

Yes, I did just shout that.

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned Candace Haven’s Fast Draft class.  Well, I did sign up for it, figuring at worst case it’d be a $20 donation to the instructor.  That’s so cheap for a writing class; it was worth the risk.

I’m so glad I did.

Because… (can I shout again?)

I DID IT!

I now have a 40,500-word first draft of my young adult novel that did not exist prior to May 14.  I’m taking a couple days off before starting in on the revisions (of which there will be tons, but that’s okay!).

What I really love is that I was able to do it without too much of a disruption to my family.  Okay, my daughter watched more TV in the last two weeks than she should have, and I only did the basics around the house, but I didn’t have to hide myself away, exist on 2 hours of sleep a night, or anything crazy like that.

I was amazed at how fast the words flowed once I got into the right mind set.  I hit 800+ words in 30 minutes several times, and even over 1000 words in 30 minutes a few times!  That is unheard of for me.

If you are a writer who struggles with the ol’ internal editor (that nagging voice that makes you re-write every sentence three times before you move on), give Fast Draft a try.  I didn’t think it’d work for me, but it did!  Candace says she does them several times a year.  Her next one is already scheduled to start July 7.  For only $20, what have you got to lose, considering you could have a complete first draft done at the end of 14 days?