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February 23, 2015

Chapter 2

No matter what, when you’re working on your final draft, you’re going to have a natural impulse to put it off. At least I find it to be true for me. So, to counter that, everyday except for my off day, I do something with the story. Whether it’s tinker with a description I know needs cleaning up, or do what I did today.

I went on a ‘this or that’ hunt. Basically every writer has a handful of words they use a lot. Too much. For me it’s ‘this’ and ‘that’ with an occasional ‘which’. So you just do a word hunt for those words you know you use as a crutch and you go through and either delete the word altogether or try and figure out how to structure the sentence without using that word.

Just doing this simple thing, this bit of word sweeping, cleans up your writing. Gives it more rhythm. Quickens the pace. Makes your dialogue crackle and move more smoothly. Because what you’ve done is force yourself to look at your words.

By the time you get to the final draft stage you tend to be just reading your words. You already know what’s there. The fixes you’re applying are structural. A ‘this or that’ hunt helps you keep an eye for the smaller stuff, as well. Helps you realize a sentence has gone on just a few words too long. It makes you question your word choices. It’s a part of the non romantic part of writing. Yet, it’s a part of writing that I love. While it may not seem like a lot, it helps make you a better writer.

Jeremiah