If you think there is a problem in your draft…

There most likely is.

Yes, maybe the voice in your mind is just doubt so you only need to give yourself a pep talk. But most likely the voice is one you should listen to. My first, second, and even subsequent drafts can have big problems. If I get that feeling—ugh this just isn’t working—I need to listen to myself and not run and hide from the problem.

Last summer I needed a break from editing my first book and its sequel, and decided to write something brand new. I sat down and poured scenes onto the page that had been swirling in my head in various forms for years. I gave all those random daydreams to a set of three characters. As I did that, this new narrator voice started coming onto the page, tying the scenes together in a sloppy way, as if she was a writer and commenting on her own writing. Then that narrator took a clear shape in my mind. She was a writer and a mother, living in a magical world, and those other three people she had been writing about were real. I spent six months writing four novels of Lena’s story. By the end, of course, part one of book one no longer worked at all. It consisted of third-person scenes of three people, with first person commentary and zero magic. Nope, didn’t fit with Lena’s first-person magical adventure. Big problem.

I got rid of all that weird commentary that had just come out of me and put in new scenes hoping that would set up part two of that book (and the next three books), but it still was choppy and awkward. Still a big problem.

But instead of doing something about it I hid from that big problem and went back to editing my first book and its sequel. And that was actually incredibly helpful. Stepping away is always good for me before big editing steps. Plus after writing Lena’s story I had taken time to learn more about story structure and editing in general, so I was able to boldly tear thousands of words out of my first manuscript, rewrite the entire beginning of its sequel (which I love better now—surprise!) and completely change timelines and use of point of view. All of that growth gave me the confidence to come back to Lena and start again.

I took a deep breath and bravely opened up a blank document. Then I copied and pasted the best bits from my first draft of book one of Lena’s story. I left out a ton of scenes that I loved, because in truth they were just daydreams that I loved writing down, but they weren’t necessary for Lena’s four-book journey. I wrote new scenes and transitions. It was not easy, but it was exciting to start again with a different story-telling method/style. I am not sure this draft “works” either, but it’s better. It’s a solid draft that I will be able to play with. I edited it a little more, then showed it to a few early readers, and they will help me get it where needs to be. If they think this draft still has big problems too, then I will have more confidence this time around to start again with a blank document and try something new. I believe in Lena’s story. I love where it goes and how it ends. I just have to figure out how to get readers started on her journey. I’ll get there someday.

So if you’re like me and want to hide from a big problem in one of your early drafts, go ahead and do that for a short time to clear your head. But then go back and face that monster. Just sit down and write already—but do it differently. You can, and it will likely be better and make you more excited than that previous draft.