Resolution #48: I Will Write The Second Draft Of... Doug: A Life... By Year's End...
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Date: 2-17-2014
Due Date: 12-31-2014
Resolution: If you are following my progress you already know that I recently completed my first novel, Doug: A Life. I'm currently taking at least a month off so that I can revisit the story with fresh eyes… to plan my rewrite strategy...
The main reason I'm making this resolution now, rather than waiting until I'm ready to start, is so that I'll have to gauge on a daily basis whether or not it's time to get started based on how I feel when I write my The Daily Breaker list.
I'm also creating this resolution now is to make it public that I'm looking for readers to provide feedback for this second draft. Drop me a line… if you are interested in reading Doug: A Life to provide said feedback…
I look forward to sharing this story but in the back of my head I always fear this:
Result #48: Not The Step I Was Aiming For… But An Important Enough Step For A Success!!!
Update #1: The Conclusion…
Date: 2-20-2015
When I set this resolution I wasn't fully grasping what 365 challenges would actually be like. Now that I look at the actual resolution this one was set before I determined that each resolution would be given an entire year to complete whether the realistic due date should be a day or a decade.
Being that I set this resolution to be due two months ago (ten months after setting it) I must have been feeling caught up as if I had plenty of time to accomplish this task.
After setting this resolution I put out an offer to pay ten people ten dollars each to read the first draft of Doug: A Life and provide feedback. I knew it wasn't much money but when else can you get paid anything to read an entertaining book, normally you have to pay.
I got my ten people right, all offering to read it sans pay. I then said I'd PayPal them the money upon getting feedback and then heard nothing. I thought at least one in ten would follow through.
My disappointment turned into doubt, assuming they all gave up reading because it sucks. I lost enthusiasm about the project and to an extent writing in general.
A few months later I found a Perthian Pen Pal. I felt I needed someone on the other side of the world to virtually converse with while my side of the planet was asleep. I found a friend and after a few back-and-forths… thought she would be a good match to write a few segments of the novel.
The novel is made up of five chapters, each an adaptation of a feature-length screenplay that I'd already written. I needed another writer to write the transitional chapters that lead us to our five main stories.
I have a writing convention that I have in mind for these transitions and my new pen pal seemed to be a good fit to help bring life to these binding chapters.
She's read the script and is interested in helping out. Once I share what this writing convention is it'll make more sense why it's more important to find a good fit for this role before starting my second draft but you're just going to have to trust me when I say this resolution is actually a success.
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in giving the novel a read. I'm still looking for much feedback.
