Fear of Showing First Drafts
No, no, no. I have enough issues without adding another. Seriously, do not need another.
Over at MuseCon I noticed that a lot of the assignments people are posting are from things they've already written. They are using the conference to tighten their prose. While I have this vague idea that I want to do for Nano and I'm using the conference to try and flesh it out.
So my assignments haven't been through the editing process. Not even the let it rest and come back to it process. I do let my assignments percolate all day while I'm at work and then when I get home I bang them out. I do the best work I can in the time I allot to the assignment, but what I turn in is still rough around the edges.
One of the students finally posted an assignment from the first day of class. She'd worked on it for three days before sharing and she apologized for the tardiness but she had: FEAR OF SHOWING FIRST DRAFT.
Wait, what? I was supposed to be afraid?
But, but, this is class. Teacher, student, learn, grow.
I thought of one assignment I turned in. I just could NOT get it to work for me. I tried and tried, but the scene was just awful. It hadn't dawned on me to not turn it in. I was excited to throw it on the teachers desk and flee the class room. I did put a warning on the top of my lesson that it sucked. I knew she would take the mess and help me sort it out. She's the teacher, it's her job.
She walked me through the process, showed me where I could improve and it is knowledge I would not have had I not just put it out there.
So I say NO to fear of showing first drafts.
A resounding no!!
(And let's face it, if I had that fear I'd never, ever be able to post a blog. ;)
Great post. Last April I showed chapter one of my soon to be done novel to 3 sisters, a daughter and a daughter in law. The responses that were returned were fabulous. All so different but expected from each. I learned more about THEM than I did my writing. I too have never worried about turning in the assignment but we oldest, boldest, loudest kids are like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteAs I've thought about the post over the day I've come to realize that turning in something that is rough, for me, is actually easier. I know there is ALWAYS room for improvement. ;)
Oh yes... I know that fear... I had it until I started blogging and then just decided that I was bored of the whole no-showing thing. So good for you for getting that work in and learning from it. That's what I try to do now... after all a first draft is never going to be a finished draft - right?!
ReplyDeleteLx