Guest post: "The First Draft…" by Kat Flannery
I hate the first draft.
You see first drafts are like trying to
suck blood from a vampire for me. I do
not like them. There is so much planning. Plot, subplot another subplot,
characterization, dialogues, that makes sense and the list goes on and
Why do I despise the first draft?
You see, friends I have a bit of a confession.
I end up writing half a novel before the real story comes to me, and I have to
start all over again.
First let me point out, much to my doctors
concern the voices in my head mean no harm, they are just aiding the story
along.
When a story comes forth inside my wacked
out head, I take a few weeks to process the possibilities that can come from
it. If I feel it’s believable and I can write it (this means I have passion for
it) I create the characters, delve into the plot and subplot, and I write a
chapter outline. Then I rub my hands together and get to work.
I write, and write and write.
I get to almost 30,000 words too. This is
45 days of writing. Then I start to notice one of the minor or major characters
more than before, and a whole new story will come to me. But like the crazed
moron I am, I ignore the voice in my head telling me to write it. What can I
say us Italians are stubborn as heck.
Instead I go on to write another couple
thousand words before the character will stop me. This is no joke, friends. I
cannot write another word in the book. My mind has gone blank. The plot I so
articulately planned has disappeared and the passion that was once there is
gone. I am stuck with the lunatic in my head demanding I tell his/her story!
What is a writer to do?
I listen to the lunatic and viola! I have
created a story that I cannot stop writing, a tale where the passion in me
grows. I begin to feel the plight of my characters, and I struggle to solve
their problems. I stay up late and wake up early to write their story. I cry
when a character I love has died. I laugh when my uppity protagonist trips and
falls into the lake. I get angry when the antagonist hurts the characters I
care so much about, and I weep when the last word is written.
I’ve taken myself on another journey; one
at times I thought would never end, and I created a story I am proud of. I’ve
become friends with my new characters and when I am finished all the edits and
revisions, I know I will miss them.
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ABOUT HAZARDOUS UNIONS
Twin sisters separated by war, bound by
love…
After the death of
their father, twin sisters Maggie and Matty Becker are forced to take positions
with officers’ families at a nearby fort. When the southern states secede, the
twins are separated, and they find themselves on opposite sides of America’s
bloodiest war.
In the south,
Maggie travels with the Hamiltons to Bellevue, a plantation in west Tennessee.
When Major Hamilton is captured, it is up to Maggie to hold things together and
deal with the Union cavalry troop that winters at Bellevue. Racism, politics
and a matchmaking stepmother test Maggie’s resourcefulness as she fights for
Bellevue, a wounded Confederate officer and the affections of the Union
commander.
In the north,
Matty discovers an incriminating letter in General Worthington’s office, and
soon she is on the run. With no one to turn to for help, she drugs the wealthy
Colonel Cole Black and marries him, in hopes of getting the letter to his
father, the governor of Michigan. But Cole is not happy about being married,
and Matty’s life becomes all about survival.
Two
unforgettable stories of courage, strength and honor
Find out more on Amazon
____________________________________
Kat Flannery’s love of history shows in the
novels she writes. She is an avid reader of historical, suspense, paranormal,
and romance. When not researching for her next book, Kat can be found running
her three sons to hockey and lacrosse. She’s been published in numerous
periodicals. This is Kat’s third book and she is hard at work on her next.
Website: www.katflannery-author.com
Blog: www.kat-scratch.blogspot.ca
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katflannery1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katflannery1
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