• Clara who?
  • Stories
  • Contact

Scribblings

~ Clara Giuliani, storyteller

Scribblings

Tag Archives: first draft

I made it! I did it!

02 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by la Clarina in Scribbling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

first draft, historical novel, revision

The-endAnd so… Sunday night around four in the morning… Yes, well: technically it was Monday morning, but still: I finished my first draft – and glory be.

Well, I may have cheated a little, and the last-but-one chapter is a tad disconnected, and the last one is more a loose collection of scenes and questions, begging – amongst other things – to be split in two… And the ending doesn’t have a very definite shape yet.

But hey: it’s a first draft. That’s what first drafts are for, isn’t it? And I finished it.

Hooray.

Now, if all goes well, I mean to let it rest for a whole month. I’m told a month is the TheEnd2time required to grow a fresh pair of eyes, very handy for revision. And it’s true: I don’t have the sense God gave to small green apples, and I’m dreadful at keeping good intentions… On the other hand, I have a good deal of work waiting for me, and books to read, and I’ll have to make it up to all the people I shamefully neglected these past five months – so perhaps my June will be so full that I will have no time to even think of the novel…

So: until July, novel.

But I confess, I’ll miss the heady rush of this last week. Between Saturday and Sunday I wrote some 7500 words – a whole lot for me. It may have been all a little haphazard, but how very exhilarating. Scenes followed scenes, and new ideas, and possibilities, and detours kept cropping up… It may seem far ideal, when one is trying to conclude as fast as possible, but it was quite heady. Theend1b

Also, it gives me a good headway towards revision, a whole new way to tighten up the middle, and a few threads I want to pursue back – if that makes sense… Oh.

See? There I am, musing on revision already!

Ah well – but this is for July. Right now, let me bask in the afterglow: I’ve finished the first draft.

Writingwritingwriting

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by la Clarina in Scribbling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Debbie Ridpath Ohi, first draft, last sprint, Will Write for Chocolate

Having decided to finish my first draft by the end of May, and the end of May suddenly being less than a week away, I’m writingwritingwriting.

And getting little sleep, and neglecting family and friends, and working at weird hours… Continue reading →

Clara, the Dithering Scribbler

09 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by la Clarina in Scribbling

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

first draft, historical novel, narrative choices, writing

writerIt’s becoming clear that my novel doesn’t proceed as smoothly as I hoped – at least, not since I hit the 45000-words mark.

After that there was London, and after London there was a snag, and after the snag there was Easter, with a bunch of relatives and guests descending on us, and after Easter… Continue reading →

Wrong Side

19 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by la Clarina in History, Scribbling

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Agas map, Bishopsgate, first draft, historical novel, Holborn, London

BishopsgateBishopsgate.

Bishopsgate.

Bishopsgate, damn it – not Holborn. Bishopsgate.

I seem to suffer from a curious affliction that makes me read “Bishopsgate” and understand “Holborn.” Repeatedly. For weeks – and, what’s worse, for chapters. Continue reading →

The Copperfield Review’s first anthology – containing Gentleman in Velvet

Recent Posts

  • Tiny Tims, Black Cloaks, and Major Rows
  • Things done, not done, to do… the yearly reckoning
  • Beside the Autumn Poets Sing
  • Tableaux Vivants
  • Missing the Squirrels

Popular Scribblings

  • Tiny Tims, Black Cloaks, and Major Rows
  • Turnus
  • The Organist and the Sailor

Categories

  • Books
  • Eccentricities
  • History
  • Lostintranslation
  • Poetry
  • Scribbling
  • Silents
  • Stories
  • Theatre
  • Things
  • Uncategorized

Enter your email address to get a messenger on horseback... er, an email will reach you by email when a new Scribbling is out.

Join 3,106 other followers

RSS Feeds

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

IBA

International Bloggers' Association

I tweet on Twitter

And I pin on Pinterest

Senza Errori di Stumpa – my Italian blog

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy