Handwritten

In the last two years or so I've taken to writing by hand and then typing it up as I go along. The process slows my thoughts and makes me think about what is exiting my brain and actually making it to the page. Sometimes what goes down in ink actually makes it to the 'final cut'. Most of the time I will write something and as I am typing it up I will edit. It forces me into the first stage of editing, which I have never really enjoyed.

Having a beta has been great all of these years, but to be honest it's only been in the last two or three years that I've really taken a good look at what gets sent out. It's never the best it could be - but before now it's been: "Write it, send it, let Siobhan deal with it."

I guess I have higher standards now.

In any case, yesterday I was typing up something I'd written about three weeks ago while wasting time in Barnes and Nobles (I do so love to waste time in that bookstore!) and what had been five solid pages of black ink and hours of meticulously crafting the words barely made one page typed up. I threw away a lot of what I'd written. It just wasn't good, it didn't fit the story, it was dragging a point that I realized I didn't want to drag that far. I mourn the loss of the words, but hey. First drafts are like that, I guess! (Hear that? I'm LEARNING.)

Today, I will be working on EFC and the Guardians of Time one-shot. I am also thinking of finding some kind of "works in progress" bar for the sidebar of the blog.