First Draft Ick

I'm just over 1100 words into my new WIP, and already I'm looking at it and thinking, "I can't use this!"

But then I started thinking about it, and I realized that's the way I work.  I write a first draft to get to know my characters.  The story isn't going to actually start until probably about 10k, but that's okay.  That first 10k gives me backstory.  It lets me meet my characters.  It lets me figure out their quirks.  It lets me realize which adjectives I'm using way too often for each of them. ;)

And when I'm done this first draft?  I won't just edit what I've got.  I'll do a full re-write.

I can hear the screeches from the plotters out there.

That's just how I work.  My first draft is the equivalent of an outline.  There may be a few scenes here and there that I'll keep, a few phrases that just stick, but the second draft is, for me, where the story becomes a real story and not just back story.  The next edit will look more like what most people probably think an edit should look like.

The important thing, though? Once I sit down and do tonight's session, I'll be around 1500 words, and I'll be on a three-day writing streak.  It feels so good to be writing again!