Cassie wanted to scream, Put down that shovel!I picked up my brand new copy of Montana Rose by Mary Connealy and read the first few lines from chapter one. That's all it took - I'm hooked!
As if yelling at the red-headed gravedigger would bring Griff back to life. A gust of wind blew Cassie Griffin's dark hair across her face, blinding her.
For one sightless moment it was as if the wind showed her perfectly what the future held for her.
Darkness.
Immediately I thought, Wow, she writes so well. I could never write like this. (I often think like this when reading a really well-written book. Every word fits into place perfectly, every scene, every piece of dialogue, every chapter moves the story along. No filler, nothing to pull me away from the page and back into the real world.But this morning I realized something amazing. The finished work I'm holding in my hand was not the way the book was originally written! (Duh) There was a first draft, lots of editing, lots of cutting and lots of tweaking. There was probably a second draft, more editing, more tweaking and who knows, maybe even a third draft. I don't think anyone can sit down and write a book perfectly the first time.
Now, this is something I should have realized a long time ago...and to tell the truth, I have read about the process of writing many, many times. I knew all about editing and revising, but this morning, it all clicked.
It's a process. One step at a time. I'll learn as I go. I'll develop my own "voice" and I'll edit and tweak until one day someone will pick up one of my novels and be hooked after reading just the first few lines.
It will happen!
-------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with your friends using the Facebook, Twitter and other share buttons below. Thanks!
(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
