Welcome to Perspectives on Writing

So you slogged through your first draft and finally got a manuscript out of it. It has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Perhaps you don't even understand exactly what you wrote, what it means, or how it all fits together.

It is finally time to read it. This is the exciting part because usually you're going to find out that your novel has redeeming qualities, and that you like it. You may even love it!

First drafts, however, are notoriously sloppy, bloated, and unfocused. That's okay. You did what you had to, to get your story down on paper (or into your word processing program.) So this is the time to slap that manuscript into shape, to make it a novel you can be proud of.

. . .