First Draft in 30 Days
by Karen Wiesner
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Book Summary Information
Author: Karen WiesnerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-05
ISBN: 1582972966
Number of pages: 216
Publisher: Writers Digest Books
Book Reviews of First Draft in 30 Days
Book Review: Excellent For New and Seasoned Writers Alike
Summary: 5 Stars
Karen Weisner has a deceptively simple system that she has used to get published and stay published as an author. Lucky me, she has chosen to format that system into something the rest of us can use and adapt to our own work.
Karen gives us easy to use worksheets for each step in forming a detailed picture of the work we want to create. Personally, I have been one of those make-it-up-as-I-go-along writers my entire life, and while I could come up with some decent ideas for stories and even entire sections of them, I would inevitably stall and abandon project after project. Not a very good way to get published.
This method is so much better. Far from the staid, rigid outlines of English Class term papers, this system lets you create a fluid, adaptable outline that is easily translated into the story you want to write. You're not limited to writing in sequence, though the suggestion is to get as far along with outlining your chapters in order as you can. If you get stuck part way through, you can work on writing the already outlined chapters, or writing scenes for later chapters, for example. This is great for me, because I often get scene ideas in my head long before I'm ready for them to occur in the story. Now I can create them, and work them in as I'm ready for them.
I find it very simple to create my own worksheets, and once you have them set up you can adapt them into your own templates. Some of the details Karen needs may not be what I need or you need, and that's the beauty of it. Karen isn't telling anyone to write exactly like she writes; she encourages writers to make the system personal and adapt it to fit their own projects. While some people may think "Well, what do I need her book for, then? I could just make up my own sheets." I say this: I always vaguely knew I needed some kind of outlining system even while I struggled with the unstructured way, but again, I didn't know where to begin. This book gives you that beginning. It gives you the bones of a good, easy to use method and lets YOU take it where you need it to go.
I was fortunate enough to participate in an online workshop with Karen Weisner on this method and receive personal answers to my questions, in conjunction to delving into the book. She is very generous with both her time and advice, and the tone of her book reflects that about her. As soon as I began Karen's system, I found myself invigorated and refreshed with respect to my writing, and new ideas seemed to pop up every day. I'm currently working on my novel using the "First Draft" method, and I feel confident for the first time ever that I will have a completed manuscript done and ready to try and publish within a reasonable time.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fresh approach to writing.
Summary of First Draft in 30 Days
Many aspiring and experienced novelists throw out hundreds of pages (and waste valuable time) before they have a workable first draft of a novel. With First Draft in 30 Days, those days are over. In this guide, readers will find: A systematic method for completing a detailed first draft in just 30 days; Sure-fire methods to reduce time-intensive rewrites and avoid writing detours; Comprehensive, detailed and interactive worksheets to make the process seem less like work and more like a game; Flexible and customizable, this revolutionary system can be modified to fit any writer's approach and style.Literature & Fiction Books
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