Not many people are happy with the first draft.

The first version of my Master’s thesis was so bad and in such juvenile language, that I just deleted it totally and started again from scratch. The second version had about 3 revisions before submission – it passed first time.

With creative writing I still start with a fountain pen and a bottle of ink as I find I can get my ideas down faster this way. Then the second part of creating is to type up and develop ideas. Then it goes on the backburner for a while before reviewing.

And this is when the frustration starts.

Before submitting a poem there may be one word that just doesn’t feel right and I can agonise over it for months or years. A paragraph in a short story or a character name that just doesn’t feel right; is it Dave Jordan or Dave Wright?

With a novel?

There are at least four sitting on my hard drive, waiting for the final edit. There is always a chapter that doesn’t aid the continuity or develop a character or set a scene or even make me laugh!

It has to be done.

As we move out of the dystopian year of 2020 I am committing to finishing more. To reduce the amount of time I agonise on a word or a paragraph. To publish more.

I just went to my notes and found nine working titles for books, four of which already have first drafts saved and the other 5 with outlines planned.

So I look back for inspiration. There are plenty of motivational quotes about and I often include them in my blogs. Two of my favourites are on YouTube, from Denzel Washington and Admiral William McRaven.

I just watched both again before setting out to work on ‘Trans-Uranic Elements: The Dark Side of Uranus’ the second in my Tales of Fairy Hanny. I intend to publish it on Amazon before January has finished. Please tell me off if I don’t.

And I just made my bed.