A More Experienced Writer

I have written two first chapters before. The first Chapter One I ever wrote was in the first version of my book, which was written from two different points of view. Chapter One of version one was written from the POV that I eliminated in my second version. It was my first ever attempt at writing a novel. Back then, I would start each writing session rereading what I had written before and revising. It didn't take too long for me to realize the impossibility of writing something the length of a novel in that fashion, but when I wrote that first chapter, I did not know that yet. I read and reread that chapter each time I started to write.

Then I wrote my second version of that book, entirely from the POV of the older character. When I wrote that first draft, I only changed a few details of the second chapter from the first version (the first chapter in that version from the older character's viewpoint). About a third of the way through, I realized that chapter was lacking something and I entirely rewrote it. It ended the same way, but the majority of the chapter was entirely new, and much better.

I have written one book. I have written it twice, and the second version did end up being surprisingly different from the first, but those original Chapter Ones were pulled from the first version of the book. I had a deep desire for them to be perfect. For my writing to start out with a polished, flawless beginning that would help guide my fingers to produce the rest of the book.

Now I know better.

I am starting a new book. My previous one is being read by my beta readers. It is the fifth draft of the second version of my book. It is not the final one. Once I get the feedback from my beta readers, I will read over it (cringing, I expect), mull over their suggestions, and decide what changes need to be made. I will make them, and then read the whole thing out loud and hopefully then will feel confident enough to begin querying agents. But for the next two months, I have nothing to do with that book. It is in others' hands, and not for me to dwell on.

So, I am writing something else. I have lots of notes about the story, along with various things I need to research. But this evening, I sat down and began Chapter One.

And I am amazed at how unconcerned I feel about making it perfect. My complete overhaul of what I believed to be a perfect beginning vastly improved my book. I am confident that I can redo any imperfections in this brand new Chapter One in subsequent drafts.

Draft One, Chapter One does not need to be anywhere near perfect. It just needs to start me writing the story.

I tend to think of myself as just an aspiring author, someone who is writing but isn't a proper author yet since I'm not published, and therefore an amateur. And there are certainly ways that I am very much an amateur. But I am surprised to find that I am much less of one than when I started writing three years ago. Writing is a journey, and I am so pleased to be walking its path.