The first draft has had plenty of quotes written about it, but the one I agree with the most is by Ernest Hemmingway.  “The first draft of anything is shit” He could not have been more right!

I finished the first draft of Secured Heart, the second book in my Windy City Series, yesterday. I had hoped to have it out on virtual shelves by Christmas, but it’s looking more and more like that won’t happen.  The first draft is absolutely shit, no doubt about it. There are a lot of plot holes, characters underdeveloped, and to be honest somewhere along the way I forgot what color eyes my lead female had so I’m pretty sure I changed her eye color mid-story.  So now I get to go through it again and again until I can’t stand the sight of it any longer, then it will go to an editor to pick it apart. But the first rule after I finish my first draft: DO NOT LOOK AT IT!

Why would you do this? Becuase I’ve just spent the last six weeks writing it. I’m attached to it. I have emotional attachment to it. I need to clear my mind of it, so that I can look at it with fresh eyes. So, it will sit in my hard drive untouched for at least a week. Although, with the long weekend coming up it will be very tempting to dive in.

This process will repeat after I make my first round of corrections. I give my Beta Readers the first draft after my first round of edits and ask their opinions on character, plot, etc. But then it’s out of sight for at least a week. Second round of corrections, away for at least 1 but most likely 2.  THEN and only then will I let my editor take her blowtorch to it.

So what will I do in the meantime?  Well, I’ll most likely be able to get a few more Wicked Wednesdays posted and Flash Fiction Fridays will possibly be posted ON Friday. However, the third book needs to be written and Alex really is going to need a lot of development time. So maybe I’ll get started on him. Not sure, but what I do know is that I will have to wait to see Kelly and Kendrick for a little while. So far, Kelly is my favorite heroine, but I’m seeing a pretty spunky character coming to match up with Alex.

I LOVE WRITING! ahem….okay..,

If you’d like to be one of my awesome beta readers please fill out the form here, and I’ll contact you! All my beta readers that participate will get a free e-copy of the book at release.