The FIRST read-through of my NaNoWriMo draft and my verdict

On Monday (after thirty minutes of procrastination because I was scared of what horrors I might find amidst the sea of words) I started reading through my NaNoWriMo first draft.

I uploaded the (much feared) draft to the kindle app on my phone to make it seem more like a book than a word document and as I read it, I made notes on my laptop of what I needed to change.

After reading the first draft, I sorted out the notes I had made into three categories. These were:

1) Easy edits.
2) Name changes and parts to go over.
3) Facts & figures.

I find when I break down problems and organise them into a list like this, my OCD brain flies through it much quicker than it would otherwise.

VERDICT ON THE FIRST DRAFT:
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by what I read. I came away from it excited to start editing and with the realisation that there was not too much to change. With the kind of story it is, I feel less is more and too much editing would make it ... sterile?

When I read through the first book I had ever written last year, the inaugural read-through was hilarious and I wrote lines that now only resurface in my nightmares ... still, I was surprised with that one too on the whole.

From Monday night until now (Saturday night) I worked through parts 1 & 2 of the list at lightning speed while concurrently going through the entire book for general grammar and lines I wanted to change etc.

I have finished my second draft (now standing at a total of 59,308 words) and will be reading through it again in the morning on my kindle, making yet another list of changes.

I hope this post wasn't too confusing. My excuse is that ALL day, EVERY day since Monday night, I have been staring at my laptop and there is a strong likelihood that my brain has melted.

To those who might happen to come across my blog (who are not my mother) and are in the middle of NaNoWriMo, whatever you do and however far behind you are with your word count, DO NOT GIVE UP ... Because it feels great to get to the other side of 50,000.