I just finished reading Karen Wiesner's 'First Draft in 30 Days'. I know, it's ok. I cringed, too, when I read the title. It just sounds so gimmicky, doesn't it?
*cheesy announcer voice* That's right! Follow this simple formula and you, too, can write a best seller in just 30 days! Easy as pie!
That's not what the book is about, though.
Ms. Wiesner offers an extremely organized and detailed outlining system paired with a simple concept that seems to make a lot of sense: if you create a detailed enough outline of your book before you begin writing, you can identify and correct problems by revising the outline instead of rewriting your book.
For example, let's say you realize late in the game that you need to introduce an extra subplot to strengthen the conflict surrounding the main plot. If you realize this once you've already written three quarters of the book, this means that you have a loooooooooot of rewriting to do in order to successfully weave the subplot into the first three quarters of the story. But if you realize this before you've started writing (because your detailed outline has helped you identify the weakness in your story's conflict), all you have to do is revise your outline to incorporate the new subplot and its effects on all the other aspects of the story. Much less work.
Ms. Wiesner gives many disclaimers throughout the book that although the method will work for almost anyone if properly used, the 30 day timeline she offers as a guide will not work for everyone and, in fact, did not even work for her the first few times she used this method. That's fine with me. I'm not in a hurry. I don't care about producing my first draft in 30 days. What I do care about is writing efficiently and productively. Unfortunately, I can't write full time. I have to work a full time job outside of writing in addition to managing my family, my household and my social life. I don't have any time to waste! So, I'm going to give this a try.
I also think that as a first time writer, this method may help me distinguish my issues better -- is it a plot issue or a character issue that's holding me back? Is my dialogue weak or is it just my word choice? I'm hoping the outline will help me differentiate between planning mistakes versus writing mistakes (since I'm bound to make both my first time out!).
More info on First Draft in 30 Days can be found on Karen Wiesner's website, www.karenwiesner.com. Click on 'First Draft'.
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