Monday, January 14, 2008

How many drafts does it take?

Yes, how many? I'm nearly complete with the second draft, but that does NOT mean it's ready for public (or even private!) viewing. *sigh*

I feel myself drawn into two internal camps. 1, I want to finish this book as quickly as possible, and 2, I want it to linger just a bit longer so I can relish the re-writing. Honestly, in some instances, it's more fun than the first draft. Not only do I have stuff to play around with, but I now have a novel. (Not a very good one yet, but it is, after all, a novel.)


One thing is for sure, though: when I am done, I will feel as victorious as this guy:



Ok, not really. This is a statue Tsar Nicholas I, who killed a lot of people (inevitable, when you're a Tsar of Russia). Incidentally, Nicholas I had Fyodor Dostoevsky sent off to Siberia for suspicious political antics. If Dostoevsky had not suffered so greatly as a young man, would the world be different for it? Would the best book ever have been written? (I am, of course, referring to Crime and Punishment.)

My mind has officially veered off my book. Time for me to go to bed and snuggle up with The Thief.

Oh, and I took that photo myself. Can you tell I found my long-lost CD of my Russian Experience?

3 comments:

Val said...

Don’t hurry in writing. A good book has to mature as a good vine.
The monument is my favorite one. The sculptor (Peter Klodt) could fix the very complicated figure on only two fulcrums.

Anonymous said...

you don't want to send it to anyone IMPORTANT until it's polished, definitely. and i hate to admit it, i put crime and punishment back on the shelf, opting for something *easier* on my soft tofu brain to read. =X cindy

Amber Lough said...

LOL, Cindy... Tofu? I bet if you'd stuck it out, C&P would have wiggled itself into your "tofu" brain and stir fried it, like it did mine. It's easier to read if you know some Russian history and culture, I'll give you that. The first time I read it, I got lost a few times. It wasn't until I finished my Russian degree and tried again that it made whole sense.