My actual word: Firsts
We have a ton of firsts, first loves, first drafts, first agent, first publisher, first pair of heels!!!...I'm thinking you get my point. There are plenty of firsts and all of them feel great (notice I only named positives), in the moment they are the best thing you've ever felt, you don't think you'll ever feel that great again. However I wonder do you feel great the second time around? After that wonderful first love do you find your true love and you realize that's greater? I never knew love until I met my hubby.
Is the same true for first drafts, agents & publishers? Is your first always the best or is it the feeling you always revert back to? I've only written and finished one first draft and I'll tell you the feeling is something that couldn't be matched, so for those of you who have finished more than one do you experience the same high? What about finding your agent what was the first feeling that came to mind?
NOTE: Sorry if I was unable to visit your blog last night my carpal tunnel was giving me a hard time!! Unfortunately this will be the last time until next Monday that I'll be able to comment on your blogs! Don't think the blog love has disappeared it's just on vacation! I'll still post for the A to Z challenge thanks to my iPhone but commenting won't be happening!
43 comments:
Aww yeah, all of those firsts. Having completed my second WIP I can tell you it feels GREAT, almost better in a way, like I've grown as a writer. so I'm keeping my fingers crossd for this one!
haha my word ver. is aingst--as in teen angst???
First's great, like that first cup of coffee in the morning. It's always fresh, new.
Hmmm...my first draft was pretty crappy. Good thing all the other first are "good". ;-)
~JD
I still love my first novel (and it sequel which I never finished editing for obvious reasons). I love my newest wip maybe a bit more because I've grown (and still am growing) as a writer.
Do we ever stop loving our first loves? I don't know. I married the only guy I've ever loved. No he wasn't a high school or college sweetie.
There is a special place in my heart for my first story. But I've loved later ones just as much esp. since the beginner writer stuff is out of the way. I think it gets better!
Morning Jen, thanks for sharing. You always have the coolest photos in your posts by the way.
The first time for anything is definitely skewed in memory. For me it is usually either awesome or horrible.
Re: wrist trouble - have you tried a chiropractor? I only trust certain chiropractors, ones that went to school at Palmer Chiropractic, but my chiropractor is like a miracle worker and three times now has fixed my wrists when they were so messed up I couldn't turn a doorknob. And I mean INSTANT fix. He puts the bones back in place and they automatically feel a million times better. Anyway, just a thought - a chiropractor may be able to fix instead of placate your carpal tunnel and most people don't realize that because they equate chiropractors to backs.
Christina - I love when you get fun word verifications!!
Bish - Enjoy your coffee!
Justine - Only basing it on the accomplishment not the state of the draft when complete! lol
Stina - I look forward to finishing the second to get another amazing feeling underneath my belt! My first love was my hubby too and same as you we weren't high school sweethearts or college sweetie!
Laura - I am excited to dive in!
Firsts are always exciting. Great post and get better. :)
Firsts are powerful, but I don't think they're necessarily best. I love MJ a hundred times more than my first love, earthshaking as that was at the time. I was just excited to have my second poem published as my first - in fact I remember the joy of both, but not which of the two acceptances arrived first!
Firsts are alwasy exciting and fabulous. :)
I hope you have a great trip!!
I loved my first guitar and my first car and definitely my first draft, though much of it has changed now! But I still love it and the great time I had while writing.
I hope you can find positive treatment for your carpal tunnel. I know that is a very painful thing to have to go through.
Have a good week!!!!
I learned so much in the process the first time around that I think the second turned out to be a better writing process. That first experience really helped the writing the second time around.
I feel just as good about anything new I've completed as I do about the first thing! But I suppose your first complete draft will always hold a special place in your heart.
Have fun in LA! If you see Matthew Gray Gubler, make sure you tell him I said hi. ;-)
Thanks for sharing. First things are great. I can't believe I can still remember my 'first' novel. I wonder if I can find it up, although it's probably better if I don't see it.
Christine - Thanks!
Guinevere - Yay for firsts!!
Kimberly - Thanks!
Amy - Oooo a guitar how fantastic!!
Joanne - I think that's a good point it is all a learning experience!
Summer - Haha I will so say hi! I'll ask for a picture too and then photoshop you in!!!
Cheree - Haha I think you always will! I hope I do, mine is super special!
Hey Jen, wow you are a quick responder!
I'm currently working on finishing up the finer details of my youth fantasy novel before submitting it to some publishers.
And I am also going to school for Freelance Writing. Young adult and fantasy are my genres of choice.
I was absolutely ecstatic when I finished my draft of my first manuscript. It was an incredible sense of accomplishment to finally see my dream of writing a novel come into fruition. I hope I'll be just as excited for my second manuscript!
LOVE those photos!! Fabulous? Yes we are, and well, funky too :)
First's are the best. I don't know what a second novel would feel like, but I'm sure it's amazing too :)
Haha, sweet!
Yeah, the revision process is like...endless. I hired an editor to look over my ms and now I am just finishing up making the suggested changes.
and nope, i'm currently unagented. my plan was to send queries to a couple publishers as well as a couple agents just to see what kind of repsonse I get, and then work from there!
And i'm glad to see we have so much in common!!
Most of my firsts have been hard to match, but I've found that I was more excited to finish my second manuscript than my first because I knew I'd grown as a writer and it was better than what came before. That feeling has only increased with each subsequent manuscript.
Aww firsts... you know, it depends. You mentioned your husband... my first boyfriend seemed great at the time, but he does NOT compare to how wonderful my husband is. But novels... I think my first novel will always be my baby, even if I write others that I end up enjoying more.
Have a great trip. I'm so jealous. I wish I was going. :) But we'll all still be here when you get back. Enjoy.
Sorry to hear you are having carpal tunnel difficulties. I hope you feel better soon.
I think firsts are the euphoria we all remember; just because it is the first time you have felt it.
Love the heels.
Great post and pics!
Yes, firsts are lovely, and yes, after finishing many first drafts, I get the same high off each one. It's lovely! And one of the reasons I keep writing. :)
No, I wasn't mad or anything. :)
I love that first picture!
Hope you are having a good time!
xx,
~Abby~
Beautiful pix! There's something sweet about the first anything, I think. I know I will always treasure my first pubbed novel ... my first completed novel? Trunk material. Definitely trunk material!! :-)
Hope the carpal tunnel gets better!
Love the heels!
Ah, the first. Oh how I wish I could pretend I'd never written that book. It was awful! It's now in a drawer, never to see the light of day again.
Terrible stuff. Truly.
You are awesome!
All the positive firsts are always the best.
I don't remember most of them, but they pop up in my head sometimes. :)
The pictures are lovely.
There's nothing like your first manuscript just like there's nothing like your first love. At the same time, no creative project is ever the same as another creative project.
I struggled writing my second manuscript at first because I kept trying to capture the joy of the first. It wasn't until I realised that this was a whole different book with a whole different point that I managed to let go of that hangup and enjoy myself.
My third book is a non-fiction so I don't have any of the issues that I had with my fiction works.
My fourth project is great because I've dealt with these hangups and now I'm all into living in the moment and savouring it.
Jai
I told everyone who mattered most to me when I finished the first draft of my first novel. I've yet to experience that feeling again (stupid false starts) but I know that each completion will be a different experience because no two stories will be the same.
I'm kind of even looking forward to my first rejection letter; it'll be like a rite of passage. Sick, but true.
I'm writing my first novel and it's one of the best experiences I've ever had!!
Great post! Thanks for sharing.
There are lots of first loves in life, I think. The pics on your blog are always so wonderful. Where can I get a pair of those shoes?
Hope your wrists feel better!!
Hello Jen! I wandered my way to your lovely blog via Talli Roland, and I am so glad, as it looks very nice over here. Love the background pattern to your blog. :)
Firsts... oh yes. Firsts can be amazing or bittersweet, can't they? There is a lot of hope in firsts... and it's actually the surname I use on my blog as well!
I love these images, and the feelings you've provoked with the "ode to firsts". I think each finished work is one of your babies, and feels just as thrilling, but that's just me. Cheers again on your finished novel!
A first draft is definitely one of the best firsts! I adore that feeling when you print it out for the first time and say, "I wrote this." It's definitely a "wow" moment.
I'm so glad I found your blog through the A to Z challenge!
I get that nostalgic, bittersweet sensation when I think back to my first love and my first manuscript. But then I remember how much better things are now (i.e. the man I DID end up marrying and my current WIPs) and realize they were just the stepping stones that led me to now.
Love your blog and it's great to get to know you!
feel better soon. rest those fingers, lady.
firsts are fantastic. the first time you meet him, feel a twinge of attraction... that is my favorite kind of first.
I mean it used to be.
Finishing a first draft is fun (how's that for alliteration?), but finishing a final draft is even more fun!
Oh, yes. It's totally possible. Because there's the first draft...then there's the first time you make that draft *good.*
Guess we just have to keep trying new things to keep having those "firsts"! Keeps us young, anyway.
I hope your carpal tunnel stops acting up!
I agree with Matthrew Rush, your photos are amazing. And you write so well!
I love firsts when traveling, when going to the theatre, when buying that hot outfit just out...but I love seconds when I read that fav book again and again, when I see an old friend again, when I see hub's smile at the end of the day, as bright as in the morning.
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