Hyperfocus of the Week: First Drafts

I had a crazy surprise weekend with all seven kids showing up for a Mother’s Day visit, along with the NWWC’s Spring Concert run. As I’m sitting down to write this I heard my youngest son yell, “Oh No! The couch is broken!” And the youngest is running around the house yelling about needing to go potty. Nevertheless, I am attempting to persist with my original hyperfocus of the week: First Drafts. 

I’ve spend much of the week working on two first drafts. The first is my current novel project, a portal mystery told in novel in stories format. The second project was a walnut wood pin cushion vase for my wood turning club’s monthly meeting show and tell. 

Wood turning generally makes great analogies for writing. You take a block of something and shape it into something workable, and then you let the wood speak to you until it becomes what it wants to be. A craftsperson uses a handful of tools in interesting ways to get the effects they are seeking. Sometimes you screw up your original idea and have to pivot. 

First drafts kind of break the metaphor. When writing a first draft an author can be as careless and wild as they like. Add all the characters; go exposition crazy; have problematic storylines and let all your biases shine—you can always fix things in your workshopping draft. Not so much in woodturning. 

Sure you can sand out gouges, or slap a bead on an unsightly wormhole, but once you’ve cut away wood you can’t exactly put it back. Sometimes you do a first draft of a piece on pine or cheap scrap wood but the intent is for practice—not to have something display worthy. I would use that as a metaphor for writing exercises, sure, but first drafts are meant to be the bones of something bigger. 

I love the way my vase turned out. It was fun to work in my own shop, then take the project to a friend’s workshop to finish it up in a social setting. The second component was the pin pillow to fit inside. This was a more familiar form of first draft for me. 

Since I wanted the project to have an historic vibe I started off with a mid 17^th century embroidery motif and popped a little flower together on a back of teal wool, then framed it with gold embroidery thread. From there is was stitch-measure-stitch again-cut-measure-stitch-etc. Until I had the fit and look I was going for. This felt much more like writing a first draft, then editing. 

I am thrilled with the final project—even the pieced together aspects which are very historically accurate for this type of work.

As far as my actual writing first draft, it is feeling very much like the first draft it is. I spent as much time outlining as I did writing, as I was discovering plot as it was flowing out of my fingers. I’ve learned over the years that sometimes noting something in the right side sections of my Scrivener docs as I’m going saves me tons of time in the long run. 

With all the end of school year stuff, as well as gearing up for the concert weekend, and the Irrigation parade, and the symphony bake sale, and and and, I really only had the emotional energy to write 300-500 words at a time this week. I suppose another difference in writing and woodworking is that latter requires far less active brain space.

If I imagine my brain like a plate, in order to write I need to have enough space cleared off to put the words without the gravy of looming housework, or the jello salad of emails that need to be send sloshing over into my scalloped potato narrative. Woodturning doesn’t require the same variety of concentration and focus and it’s far easier to stop and start (although maybe it has something to do with the sharp tools that I’m wielding that people give me a wider berth?)

Regardless, I spend quite a bit of time on first drafts all around. Somehow this week is even busier, but I’m going to be purposeful about adding in more writing time and maybe even take myself camping. 

Happy writing folks! And Happy Mother’s Day to all.