First draft, round two!

Here we are again. The completion of a messy and glorious first draft of a novel! It’s been a little over two years since I completed the very first draft of my first novel. The Journey of a First Draft

“I’d been warned that writing a second book was difficult but writing Legendary felt nearly impossible.” Stephanie Garber

When I read these words as part of the author’s acknowledgments in a book I’d just finished reading, an immediate “Yes!” came out of my mouth. I was in the throes of the first draft of my own book two.

I’m not sure why I thought writing the first draft of book two would be easier. I mean, I remember distinctly how harrowing it was the first time around, but surely the hundreds (literally) of hours I spent writing book one would count for something, right?

In some ways, yes, I knew a whole lot more coming into round two than my naïve and blissfully ignorant self did back in 2020. But, as Stephanie Garber alluded to, writing book two in a series comes with a whole set of heavier weights.

Despite the challenges, this blog and my intent are always to uplift and encourage. Even now, I hear Taimani shouting, “Fight we must!” And, of course, the echo must always be, “Win we shall!”

Plus, this is a celebration post; the first draft of Win We Shall, all 70,000+ messy words, is written.

*deep exhale*

Before I jump head-first into the revision process, I’d like to keep with my pattern of celebrating milestones with sharing. Here are my top three takeaways from writing a first draft, round two:

Community makes all the difference

At some point during the revision process for Fight We Must, I was able to connect with a small group of writers – Gordon, Richard, and Shala. For a few months, we met weekly, sharing a few chapters and giving feedback as alpha readers to each other’s stories.

This time around, the core of the writing group expanded and truly began to embody its name: Mosaic. For the past year, six of us have been meeting up weekly to share our writing, critique, discuss, and most importantly encourage each other along the way. We’re a diverse bunch – a Trini, a Trini living in Jamaica, a Jamaican living in the U.S., a South African in the U.S., plus a Brit, and myself. Special shoutout to our UK writer who joins us every week at 2:00 AM (or later) her time!

We’re all writing different stories ranging from fantasy to non-fiction to women’s fiction and more. But at the core, we all share the same values – and that is our true power together.

I can’t wait to introduce our group and each writer to you later this year when we officially launch our project to the public. Stay tuned!

I’d also like to thank Zakyla for joining me on a few “writing days” where we’d move from coffee shops to libraries, making fun days full of writing.

Plotting versus “pantsing”

I wish I was a plotter – that I could outline and masterfully outline my novel in advance. I tried… many times. I even bought a beautiful tri-fold board that I intended to fill with sticky notes for each scene, mapping out the story and making writing the draft a breeze. Alas… a plotter, I am not.

“Pantsing” in writing is to write by the seam of your pants. It’s also referred to as discovery writing. For better or for worse, this is how I write. For the life of me, I cannot figure out a scene until I throw my characters in and see what they will do.

Quite frankly, I will work with whatever keeps the momentum going and gets words on the page – but I still have author dreams that one day I’ll be able to plot in advance.

Readers make all the effort worth it!

As I was getting ready to publish Fight We Must, I remember having a moment of panic – “What if no one reads this? What if people hate it?” Gordon may say that I had several moments of panic.

Since then, one of my greatest joys has been to receive an email or message from readers in any form or fashion. Sometimes it has been a reader reaching out with congrats, encouragement, or simple pleasure to find a values-based book. Sometimes it was a parent, thanking me for writing something that spurred meaningful conversations with the youngsters in their home. I even connected to a few writers, which is special in its own right.

Let me also give a special thanks to each person who took the time to give a rating or review online. In the book world, ratings mean a great deal – and I appreciate the support!

Here’s an example that makes “my glad bag buss”…

“This is one of those rare books that you can feel confidant handing off to your children and know it will enrich, encourage and build them.”

Bottom line: writing is a journey.

I recently read Nova by Chuck Black. In the opening scene, a father tells his daughter, “The journey of a thousand miles doesn’t begin with a step – it begins with a dream.” I still believe that the “next right step” is always the most important, but Chuck was right – if you don’t have a dream, a purpose, or a mission, you’ll never make it through the long, winding journey.

As Dr. Woodroffe, President of Congress-WBN, has declared many times, “The power of the journey has forged us and made us strong!”

May we all continue journeying and moving forward from strength to strength until the End.

Fight we must but win we shall!

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