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I've talked before about how I've wanted to be a writer since pretty much ever. I remember sitting in my elementary school, and rolling my eyes as the teacher went over boring things like sentence subjects, conjunctions, and other grammar. I remember thinking, "I don't want to worry about all that crap, I just want to write!"
Many moons later, I still have this philosophy. It's a big reason why I stopped writing for so long, because I worried about conforming to one writing style. Could I ever remember all those pesky grammar or story telling rules? It seemed too much.
Before you roll your eyes, I do have a good grasp of grammar. I'm not as anal as my Catholic schooled mother, but I know the majority of the rules, and do try to remember them. When I'm writing my earlier drafts, I don't worry about all those little things, and fix them as I go along.
Thankfully I have a critique partner who is the opposite of me, and has a wonderful grasp of all the things that I HATE, so when I get my drafts back, there's a lot of crossed out text and notes of how I should remember to do this, not that. With her gentle prodding, I've been able to engrain those rules in me, so now I'm fixing them in my first draft.
Do you play fast and loose with grammar and style in your early drafts?
I think I am a weird mix of you and your critique partner. Part of me (the first draft part) wants to just get the story out as quick as possible, mostly so I don't forget about what I want to write. Then my second draft self is super grammatically correct, and I go through a correct everything and structure it better. I don't think of it so much as a first and second draft, but more a first draft A and B.
ReplyDelete-Kate the Book Buff
The Book Buff: Book Reviews for Regular People
I am the EXACT same way as you! Even down to the rolling eyes part. I remember having the biggest fight with my mom because she told me, "You HAVE to be good at those things to be a writer and if you're not, then you won't be a good writer." I told her I have to respectfully disagree. I had a writing professor pull me aside and tell me that some of the greatest writers have no freaking clue about conjunctions and punctuation and commas because there are people out there who DO get that stuff and actually ENJOY doing it. So when you put the two together, you get a good ending result.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't wait to be published so I could break some of the things that were once considered rules, like no sentence fragments. :) Luckily for me, I pretty much have a grasp of the pesky stuff, so editing is not such a chore when I get to it.
ReplyDelete@ Kaitlyn: I'm like you, I consider my first draft draft one, and the "second" draft 1.5. My true second draft is the one that has been looked over by my beta and CP.
ReplyDelete@ Jade: What great advice you got from your professor!