An apology to my first-draft beta readers
I found an old version of the novel on which I'm currently working. This was the first-draft version I sent out to my beta readers. There is only one thing I must say. I am so, so sorry. One of Stephen King's pieces of advice to authors is that your first draft will suck. Mine adds credence to that view. If you take certain pieces of writing advice to heart, my opening chapter of the first draft isn't that bad. It is a collection of sharp, declarative sentences. There is a thin line of continuity. I introduce main characters and put them in perilous times. That makes it sound as if I don't need to make that heartfelt apology. The problem is that the first draft was missing so much. It lacked depth. It lacked delineation of character, especially for the two main characters. My main character, my protagonist, was a spectator. He wasn't immersed in interactions with either fellow characters or setting. How's that for overlooking main goals? What made it worse i