Writing the Wrongs

  

Benjamin Franklin once said;  Nothing is certain in this life, except for death and taxes. As accurate (and witty) as that claim may be, it is in my view a partial, incomplete statement that paints only a piece of the picture, allowing for blank space that could be filled in with a  broader, more expanded complete definition to include other missing certainties we should expect to encounter in this life. Embellishing on Mr. Franklin’s wise assessment, I would reclaim the certainties in this life to include: death, taxes and wrongs in general. Whether thrust upon us by fate and no fault of our own, or forged by our own hands and creation, these hardships, adversities and wrongs  are as certain as the rising sun, same as the regrets, guilt or pain that will tag along with them.  

Although wrongs in life are unavoidable, and even necessary for growth and strengthening,  they do not need to undermine our story outline, or derail us from our purpose or quest to achieve publication, or fulfillment and happiness.  Sure, it might take effort, energy and courage to overcome each one that we encounter- for some even too difficult to attempt, often triggering individuals to complain, whine, cry victim or give up altogether.  But, alternatively, when resignation of or escape from the wrongs  is not feasible, possible or advisable, and that is almost always the case, we might instead dig in to proactively rewrite the wrongs  into something right, something  useful for a future more positive chapter, like turning lemons to lemonade as American Writer and Philosopher Elbert Hubbard would say, or like adjusting our sails when the storm that hits is out of our control.

To Write the Wrongs is about more than simply revising the flawed scenes of our story to add interest, thrill, thought- provoking material or excitement;  it is also about taking an extra step to  transform the wrongs into something right, something better, something that WILL work- whether in fiction or in real life.  Writing the Wrongs means to reevaluate, repurpose and recast the unfair, unexpected,  wrong things that happen TO us, as well as to reshape and correct the wrongs we create for ourselves.

In J.D. Mathes’s Writers Digest Writing through the Troubles ,  Mathes describes the process as being “about coming to terms and making sense of your life.”  He says “it allows us to tell our story and make the suffering transcendent.”  For him, writing through his troubles sprouted from an experience he had when he was younger after he had been arrested- a wrong which not only negatively impacted his  life, but also  his mother’s life and the life of other collateral’s who had gotten swept up in his troubles.  Published in the Massachusetts Review, his essay was titled Mamma Tried,  told from the point of view of  the person he cared about most who was devastated the most. Through this writing process, he worked to transform his experience into a “healing narrative”.   In other words, he worked to write the wrongs in a way that could potentially heal, inspire and help others in their troubles.

Similarly, Writers Digest contributor, Sally McQuillen wrote in her May 2025 article, Why I wrote and published my Memoir, about losing a child.  Without doubt,that had to be deeply painful to craft, and yet McQuillen stuck with it for seven years, writing through her grief and pain while parenting and working full-time.  Determined to write (right) her wrongs, she turned her pain into something healing and useful; “… writing it has given me strength in my vulnerability in hopes that the tears in my words might help anyone hurting feel less alone.”  Explaining that her reason for writing about the tragedy was her son, and in that love for and memory of him she needed to craft meaning of her “seismic loss and survive it”- while simultaneously sharing it with others who might feel lost and alone in their own painful troubles. It was her way of Writing the Wrongs.

In the 10-8-25 Writers Digest article The Power of Hopeful Fiction in Difficult Times, author Shanna Hatfield describes stories as lifelines.  Her idea of turning lemons to lemonade, or to write the wrongs is to craft “hopeful fiction to remind us of better possibilities, of courage tucked away, waiting to blossom.” She says it “offers the assurance that beauty can emerge from hardship.  Fiction infused with hope doesn’t blithely skip around reality. It faces it head on, and then provides the steps for readers to climb above it. For writers, finding the balance between authenticity and optimism can be challenging, but getting it right feels like a cherished gift.”

To more clearly unpack this idea, Hatfield points to the letters she received from her grateful readers that highlight the purpose of writing hopeful fiction, in which they discuss their own hardships. These wrongs that happen to them  or are a result of their own creation, often include wrongs like job loss, unexpected medical diagnoses, financial struggles, relationship loss, death, PSTD, depression, thoughts of suicide  and other difficulties, injustices and unfairness to which we can all relate.  In response to the readers’ heartfelt admissions, she advises, when writing your story,  to “give your characters trying situations and problems to overcome, but thread that needle with hope.  Add hope one small layer at a time, through simple gestures or acts of kindness we often overlook or miss”. These could include a neighbor who provides a meal, a friend who offers a ride to a doctor appointment, a stranger’s warm smile, a service worker who sympathizes, or a loved one who does his or her best to ease your fear, worries, pain or dismay.

I know for me personally, this year threw more wrongs at me than I had experienced in years,  since my divorce and my father’s death.  They came at me so hard and so unexpectedly that I had no time  or preparation to avoid or escape them. Some came through no fault of my own, and others came as a consequence of bad decisions I made in the past, but all of them caused me to stumble, freeze, or shut down for at least a moment.  

For me, writing the wrongs was about turning more steadfastly to the word of God, increased worship and prayer, deepening my faith, changing habits, and making or encouraging positive changes for me, my family and my life.  I was lucky to have those neighbors, friends, service workers and family in my life to help me “write the wrongs” that happened TO me and BY me.  My story transformed from one of lost hope, despair, anger, confusion and fear, to one of new found hope and a renewed enthusiasm to make things better in my life and in the lives of those who had become caught up in my “lemon” storm with me. 

Writing hopeful fiction, or converting lemons or writing the wrongs, provides a safe place for readers to experience a broad scope of emotions, to work through confusing thoughts and to develop a sound sense of hope and optimism for the future. Shanna Hatfield suggests to “create a foundation of hope in truth, to add vulnerability (moments of weakness or anguish), craft possibility (for healing, forgiveness or newfound strength) and remember the reader (gift her with encouragement, laughter and reassurance).  She ends her advice with this;  “Fiction can’t erase or cure the world’s (or your own) struggles, but it can encourage us to face them with hearts full of love, faith and hope.”

In the January 2025 Finding Strength in Rejection: Turning Setbacks into Success as a Writer, Deanna Martinez-Bey provides another way to see it and write it;  “Rejection can sting, but it doesn’t have to stop you.”  While her article focuses on the writing process practiced by writers, her suggestions apply to any of life’s setbacks.  She says “Rejection doesn’t mean your work isn’t good- it often means it wasn’t the right fit at the right time.”  Isn’t that true of some of the hardships we all face as human beings living in our own life story, while we are here on this temporary pit-stop called life.  “Rejection”, Martinez-Bey says “ is part of the process … we must allow the negative to propel us into positivity”.   In other words, write with determination, clarity, courage and purpose, -make lemonade from lemons to quench thirsts and  “write the wrongs” that will turn them right. 

When I think back to this year’s events that derailed me and my family from the story outline I had envisioned for us,  I recall how difficult it was for me to allow the negative to push me forward into the positive at that time.  It was not easy to do but it ended up being possible and doable.  I could have let those wrongs define my present, threaten my future, and betray my cherished past ,  by accepting the wrongs at face value,resigning myself to their negative impact on my story, and just letting them be.   But, instead I picked them up off the ground where they fell after they had toppled me over, and I began rewriting them. 

 I am still writing and re-writing them.

In the January 2026 Writers Digest article, Character Arcs: Turning Inner Struggles Into Story Power, Sarah Branson says “Even the wildest plot falls flat if the main character stands still, untouched by the storm swirling around her.” The plot we write, or that we live, is going to come with its unexpected twists and turns, some for the best and many for the worst, but it is how we face them and move forward that makes our stories meaningful and impactful -for our audience, for ourselves and for others.

“At the heart of every story, “ Branson adds, “ a character struggles with what they believe about themselves and the world. The plot draws us in, but the character arc (how the character responds and changes)  is what sustains our interest as readers.  When you build from the inside out, letting the character’s misbelief about herself or her circumstance (and the wrongs)  shape every beat, the story does more than move.  It lingers in the quiet after the last page.  You create a story that matters.”  

Writing the Wrongs means  to find the right in the wrong; the positive will be there if you look hard enough.

It means to reshape the wrongs into rights; regardless of how difficult the task seems it will always be possible if you try hard enough. 

It is about writing the fictional story that will matter to our readers, but it is also about reevaluating, repurposing, recasting and writing and rewriting the wrong things that will inevitably happen TO us and BY us, in our own real life stories.

Joshua 1:9:  Have not I commanded you, Be Strong, Of good courage.  Be not frightened, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Re-structuring the Father/Son Relationship around Hopeful Possibility

Which comes first; the real life stereotypical experience of the father/son relationship struggle around which writers construct their fiction, or the writer’s fiction that permits and normalizes real life relationships to get stuck or go bad?  Like the famous chicken or the egg question, the answer may stump us, as we wonder if it can be possible to end the infinite cycle of ongoing hopeless inevitability that dictates the father/son relationship by restructuring our stories around hopeful possibility instead, both in fiction and in real life.

In literature, the father /son relationship often comes riddled with the father’s belief that good fatherly parenting is done best through the “manly” iron- fist method passed down by father to father to father, combined with the son’s yearning to feel worthy, loved and accepted, causing a perpetual and  futile battle between earning and showing respect. Each party’s need stands in direct contrast with the other’s, which prevents any degree of long standing compromise or truce that could result in an emotionally balanced and joyful, healthy  relationship.

Writers typically craft their stories to mirror these common relationship struggles that fracture the ever important bond between father and son (or between any individuals in any relationship for that matter).So many of the narratives we read, and the television shows and movies we watch, replicate the all too common rocky relationships between fathers and sons.  Certainly, as writers, it is our job to depict these relationship struggles to acknowledge their realistic existence, to point out they are indeed there, but also to take it a step further, to work toward mending the relationship during that creative process.  Like the Medical Doctor who makes his diagnosis first; his service will not be of any value if he stops there before providing a treatment to heal the affliction.

As we know, writing to reflect universal issues in real life attracts and engages audiences who experience similar situations. People in general like to feel they are not alone when facing tribulation, that they are not experiencing things no one else has, or that they are not reacting to the situation badly, unusually or incorrectly.  Reading about individuals immersed in similar circumstances helps to ease the pain, close the wound or soften the scar.  Perhaps even to provide hope.

In 7 Tips to Writing Father and Son Relationships, author Charles Yallowitz, in his epic fantasy series Legends of Windermere, points out the relationship hurdles facing fathers and sons and how to re-write these experiences into fiction that might distill murky waters with a more hopeful plotline. He says where once upon a time it was considered less manly to show the father’s emotion, that it was always the “mother’s” job to do that, it does not need to be like that, that this status quo can change.  He suggests this can be done by establishing the type of relationship you want the father /son to possess in the story, and grow everything around that.

 ….something about the father/son challenge turns into toxicity in writing.  Authors seem to want the father to be the villain or the son to be the young fool, which doesn’t need to be the case to make the story interesting or credible.  In fact, he adds; , The son doesn’t always have to be railing and battling against the father … and fathers aren’t always disappointed in their sons.  He further warns; This is a common trope.. . and the story doesn’t always have to involve the near destruction of the father/son relationship. While there should be boundaries between the father and son, and  the father should contain a level of authority instead of coming off solely as a friend.  Finally, he adds; Boundaries don’t always have to be pushed and broken.

Supporting the idea to instill hopeful possibility into the father/son relationship experience- to replace hopeless inevitability, many chapters of the bible convey messages to fathers about providing compassionate guidance and loving encouragement to sons, as well as messages for sons to honor and respect their fathers.  These messages of the bible inspire anger-less discipline, an uninterrupted steadfast flow of open communication and genuine acceptance from the father as he guides his son toward manhood, toward becoming a man with strong character, integrity and healthy decision making.  Some examples to demonstrate this idea can be found in Ephesians 6:4 :  Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  Or in 2 Samuel 7:14-15, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him. And in John 5:19 in which Jesus said, “The son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.”

Indeed, the son learns from his father -who like it or not is the son’s role model-for good or bad- by observing how his father leads his life, treats others, handles adversity and the manner in which his father communicates and shows emotion. In response, the son will learn to imitate his father, and depending on what he observes, he may learn to become a man of integrity, good ethics and morals, and of honor, or in contrast he might learn to hold in anger, distance himself, rebel, become violent and even get into trouble.

Author, Matt Fogelson, in the February 2026 Writers Digest article: Finding the Emotional Center of a Memoir, describes his own relationship struggle with his father and how he had to work through the emotional absence he felt.  Sons feel an almost primal need to forge connections with their fathers… It’s a need that probably goes back to the cave man and is as strong as the need for fire.   He says; if absence is something we inherit, presence is something we have to choose. 

Likewise, Writers Digest Editor Robert Lee Brewer’s October 2022 interview with Author Roman Tune speaks to those hopeless inevitabilities in Tune’s, ” I Wish My Dad: The Power of Vulnerable Conversations Between Fathers and Sons.”   He too discusses his own healing process through his relationship with his father.  His advice to writers is; Tell the story in ways that give readers permission to feel their feelings and heal and thrive.  Be courageously transparent by not just showing your wounds but be sure to show readers your scars because scars are the evidence of healing….. As a writer, you have the ability to inspire people on their journey of becoming the best version of themselves that they can possibly become in their lifetime.

In other words, reflect reality in a way that gently validates the very real hopeless inevitability that has traditionally dictated the plot-line around which the father/son relationship narrative has been written and lived thus far, along with the destruction it has caused, but to revise the plot-line this time with hopeful possibility as the fix, the treatment or the cure that has the real possibility to heal or at least provide hope.

In Jamie Ford’s novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, the relationship between father and son is told through the perspective of the young son Henry and his struggle with his emotionally distant father, who was controlling and rigid with his beliefs and subsequent parenting style, and also as father to his own son Marty years later as he works to break the pattern, to heal both old scars and new wounds he had been in the process of creating. The lack of meaningful communication between father and son was based on a lifetime of isolation…. Whatever stumbling methods of communication Henry had used with his own father seemed to have been passed down to Marty.

Although the struggles between fathers and sons are unfortunately and undeniably complicated and real, and as writers we are tasked to acknowledge and mirror that stoic reality, perhaps if we re-frame the narrative with a more trans-formative architectural design we can open the door for change that provides a brighter outcome. If writers, and individuals in general, pay homage to the seemingly mundane “un-masculine” positive father/son interactions usually benched to allow room for dramatic effect or to fulfill stereotypical expectations, and validate the subtle, although uncomfortable attempts by fathers and sons to connect that traditionally were viewed as too un-manly, unflattering or unworthy to highlight, or mainstream those awkward efforts each father makes to step outside comfort zones handed down by past generations and conventional perimeters, and if we encourage and admire the willingness of both participants to risk image, pride, control or rejection for the sake of love, the answer to the “Which comes first” question just might not matter anymore. Maybe then, the question will lose its attraction and intrigue once the current stoic father/son relationship narrative is torn down and rebuilt around a new and revised plot-line that creates momentum for change rather than to follow the same old outdated outline created by generations of the past. 

Then perhaps, there truly might be hope to end the infinite cycle of ongoing hopeless inevitability that dictates the father/son relationship by restructuring our stories around hopeful possibility instead, both in fiction and in real life.

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (RSV)

It is All About How and Where You Place the First Domino

Like tipping dominos, every decision we make triggers a chain reaction of events or consequences that either fall into place neatly like alphabetically aligned books on a shelf or out of place chaotically like a carpet of confetti on New Year’s morning.  We can make mindful decisions that are well thought out for intentional outcomes or we can make our choices hastily without giving them a second thought.

In the Writer’s Digest Feb 2021 article: Plot Twist Story Prompts: Forced Decisions, Author/ Editor, Robert Lee Brewer says the following:   How characters handle making decisions reveals a lot about them. Some people seem born to make decisions without a second thought to whether they’re right or wrong. Others agonize over the tiniest decisions and will shut down if given the chance. Whether small or large, each decision we make sends action ripples forward, altering the elevation, length or direction of our own individual path or someone else’s.

Take for instance, Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, in which two conflicting paths in the woods serve as a metaphor for making important life decisions.  The speaker in this poem ultimately chooses “the road less traveled by”, -a decision that “has made all the difference” pointing toward how a single decision at any intersection or junction can determine the entire trajectory of one’s life or at least an important part of it.

Complicating this further, as much as we like to think our decisions will affect only ourselves, they are not stand alone dominoes, each one an island, isolated and insignificant.  Every choice we make could impact other individuals and their stories or their part in ours, from family and friends to community, society and the world.  That first domino touches the next one, and the next one touches the one after that and so on.  One small decision, prompted by a single seemingly unimportant thought, idea, or judgment could invoke anywhere from a minor ramification to a colossal aftershock beyond repair.  Sometimes we might know that in advance and other times the consequences take us completely by surprise.

 As we know, an action does not become an action without a thought to trigger it, however; in between the tiny space between the two is the decision directing us like a crossing guard with the ability to prevent or cause catastrophe. And further, supporting the thoughts that impact our decisions, there are the contributing variables that further influence outcomes, some positive like faith, love, friendship, grace, mercy, and so forth and others that can easily generate negative results, like the need for immediate gratification, selfishness, greed, pride, sloth and so many more -each resulting decision serving as the first domino in a line of dependents. 

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus makes the decision to defend Tom Robinson, despite realizing he likely won’t win, attesting to his strong morals and belief that equality should prevail over racism. He further chooses compassion over the law when he covers for Boo to avoid destroying another man’s life.  Additionally, the jury engages in collective decision-making when they subscribe to racial prejudice rather than actual evidence. And of course we have Boo Radley himself who makes the self- sacrificing decision to save innocent children from Bob Ewell’s acts of evil.  All of these decisions are influenced by contributing factors like courage, ethics, morals, societal conformity, injustice, racism and more- both positive and negative.

In F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the naive and narrow-minded pursuit of the American Dream, the need to feel accepted in society, and the quest to follow love although blindly and irresponsibly, drive the characters’ decisions. Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom make careless decisions nurtured by reckless ideas of love and desire, selfishness and a tainted view of the world and one another. 

In E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web:  Charlotte makes the decision to save Wilber out of loyalty, selflessness, love and friendship while at first Wilbur makes no decision, remaining passive- depending on others, until later when he makes the decision to care for Charlotte’s children in a chain reaction set in motion by Charlotte’s first carefully and strategically positioned domino inspired by love, friendship and loyalty at play.

In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserable, the characters learn the value of individual choices that have the ability to  transform life and society, choosing between redemption and  safety, between the law and mercy, compassion and self-interest, love and self survival, love and duty. Each character faces a struggle that comes with difficult decision-making -each one affecting another character’s personal confrontation with adversity. As Hugo writes;  “ The straight line is a respectable optical illusion which ruins many a man”.  In other words, nothing is black or white or easy.  One tipped domino might cause a chain reaction of ripples that can save or destroy lives.

And in one of my favorite stories, Frank Capra’s movie; It’s a Wonderful Life,  George Bailey must make self sacrificing decision after decision for the sake of those he loves and the small town he always thought he wanted to leave behind for “greener pastures”. Each of the dominoes he generously and selflessly sets up affects so many others, revealing the far-reaching deep impact of each one of his decisions, opening eyes to the more important purposes in life:  love, friendship, faith and family.

Even within the greatest narrative of all time, the Holy Bible, there are stories to reflect the varying consequences related to decision making that result in life changing outcomes.  Some of these include the Jericho prostitute Rehab’s decision  to hide Joshua’s spies despite the extreme risk to her life and family,  the decision made by  Paul from Tarsus to follow Jesus after at first persecuting Jesus and his followers, Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God’s command not to bite the forbidden fruit,  Daniel’s decision to choose faith in God over fear for his life, David’s decision to face the Giant with only a stone and a sling as his weapon, Joseph’s decision to believe in Mary’s faithfulness and virginity so that he could father the Son of God, Moses’ decision to chose his Jewish heritage over the Egyptian protection he had grown up with,  and Abraham’s reluctant decision to obey God’s command to potentially sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.  This decision making in the bible that requires active faith and trust in God, always difficult, sometimes agonizing and yet not impossible, demonstrates how one domino has the power to affect other dominoes lined up in its path. Psalm 119:105, reads “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”, signifying that decisions should honor God’s word, which serves as a guide for life’s path.   It is our responsibility to decide and act obediently while God takes care of the associated outcomes; our decisions are influenced by what we place and nurture inside us to ultimately determine the journey ahead.

Whether we are the authors of our own life stories or of the fictional stories we create, setting up the first domino at the start of the line, we are the ones in control, the ones to whom our creator gifted free will, decision-making and fate. Whether we realize the effects that first domino placement will have on our own part in our own story or the effects our decisions will have on others who take part somewhere else in our story or in their own story, in the end it is ALL about how and where we place each decision-making domino that matters. Each one of those dominoes decides the connecting fate awaiting each of us or our characters in the last line of our story as the final domino either topples over in disappointing or tragic outcome or remains standing, ever-faithful, righteous, hopeful and strong.

Every Draft Counts… Our stories often need to fall apart before they will fall into place

The number of drafts it takes for the writer to craft before the story is complete varies between authors, and even between each writer’s own pieces of work.  Some might only write two or three drafts while others may write many more. 

Take for instance, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which took seven drafts to complete and Margaret Mitchell’s nine drafts over a ten year period to produce Gone with the Wind. It is also said that it took J.K. Rowlings up to fifteen drafts to write her famous first book in the Harry Potter series.  The point is that the final, finished product is not achieved overnight, or easily.  It takes much “tearing down and rebuilding”, or trial and error, and getting things wrong first to get things right. But, all of that hard work will be worth the effort because in the end, regardless of the final draft tally, each attempt builds upon the last and adds value toward the overall story.  Each draft counts, because- you see- our stories often do fall apart before they can fall into place.

Ernest Hemingway once said; the first draft of anything is shit. In fact, it is said that he rewrote the ending to Farewell to Arms forty seven times before getting it to finish the way he wanted.  Anne Lamott in her “Bird by Bird” book on writing suggests the same idea when she said; Write an incredibly shitty, self indulgent, whiny, mewling first draft then take out as many of the excesses as you can. She referred to her own three draft process of writing the first draft as the down draft or child draft in which she writes freely whatever comes to mind, like a child, to get it all down.  This is followed by the up draft in which she begins the editing/ revision process and finally she produces the third and final draft, where she line edits.

Recently, I was drawn into a relationship breakup between two people I love very much.  They met when they were in college and remained in their relationship for several years before each of them had made enough poor decisions to wear down the integrity of the bond they shared.  In the end, those mistakes became too much.  The weight they carried eventually grew too heavy to uphold the framework of their relationship- pushing it to crumble into pieces like a neglected old barn that could no longer weather the storms. 

That relationship “tear –down” is not about me, however. I am merely standing on the outside watching their relationship fall apart like a reader with an emotionally provoking book in her lap. They are their story’s main characters who feel the direct brunt of their pain.   All I can do is offer my love, support and sought after advice.  And in that advice, I remind them that it can take many attempts (drafts) to eventually come up with the final product.  They may need to go through several  tear-downs and rebuilds and relationships before they find the right partner OR they could one day rework this very relationship narrative once they have fixed themselves enough to finally get it right.

Each effort we make will help us to know what we truly do want or do not want, what we need or deserve, whether out of a relationship, from a partner, or from a job or anything else, because each attempt moves us forward, either toward someone or something else with whom we are meant to be or toward a restructured version of the earlier failed chapter that will work this time around.  Sometimes, our starting point might be the place we were meant to be all along.  Or -sometimes not.  The only sure way to figure that out is to keep drafting.

Because truly, our stories often do need to fall apart before they can fall into place. None of us are perfect and rarely do we as human beings hit the lottery the first time we play or place first in the race the first time we run.  But, one thing is as certain as the sun rising each morning- every one of those drafts will count toward the end result that will work best for us.

In a February 2009 Writers Digest article, Author Elizabeth Sims said; youneed to give yourself permission to make mistakes because you haven’t forgiven yourself for past ones. Unless your throttle is wide open, you’re not giving it everything you’ve got.  T here will be trial and error, and drafts that contain excess you won’t need, thoughts, ideas and words that won’t work.  But none of that is a waste of time or effort because it will always point you toward the final draft that will work.  

Y.A Author and Playwright D.M. King said in his 2016 Writers Digest article: Six things to consider after you write your first draft”  when he was comparing his first girl crush to writing drafts;  I was so sure she was the one” (she wasn’t). ..that first draft was so easy to fall in love with because of the countless hours you’ve spent together drawing upon the muse and flooding  the page with your once-in-a –lifetime story. In other words, in your first draft you pour it all out- onto the paper letting every thought and word fall out freely without edit or revision or second thought.  You make a big fat mess, like a three year old with all ten fingers dripping in paint as he glides his fingers back and forth to cover the canvas.  He has no idea what his masterpiece will look like when it is finished although he has his expectations in mind, but that won’t stop him from allowing his creativity and imagination from taking the reins in the meantime. 

First drafts will contain errors, mistakes, and even failures. The first draft attempt is where the writer gets to know her characters- what they look like, how they think, what they want from life, and it is where she builds the world in which they will live. It is where she chooses between the different paths they might take and the potential endings they might have.  She will overwrite and underwrite here, but that is okay.  She will figure it all out later when the frenzy fades and she can see more clearly.  This is the place where she lays the concrete for her foundation, where she tills the soil in preparation for the garden she will grow, where she lays down the first layer of primer to prep her walls and it is where she gives birth to the story inside her.

It is in the subsequent drafts where she will cut, tweak, and add accordingly. That will be where she will pull the weeds, smooth out the cracks, and toss out the junk to create something new, something better.  She will tear down and she will re-build.

In the last two chapters of the bible, in revelations 21:1 the word new means fresh or renewed. The new earth will be the old earth made new again by purging out all the age long evidences of sin and the curse, decay and death. The very “elements” will be melted and dissolved in fervent heat…. It is a tearing down of the current sin-broken world and creating new through a complete and perfect recreation. This is true in our stories, in our relationships, in our dreams and in our lives.  As Author Jack Smith says in “ A Writer’s Guide to Second Drafts”  in The Writer Nov/Dec 2022 issue;  If seasoned writers know one thing, they know this; you don’t get it right the first time.

To this point, Victoria Gilbert, mystery writer also says in that same Nov/Dec 2022 article; don’t be afraid to make major changes, you can still retain the heart of your novel while doing extensive revisions.  Don’t be afraid to cut, shift or even add material.  You aren’t destroying your vision-you’re enhancing it. And in that same article Author Marjan Kamali  adds;  you may need to do a complete retstructuring/regutting of the first draft.

Likewise, in the Larry Brooks’ Writer’s Digest May/June 2020 “Revising: Beginning your Story Fixing Efforts”,  Brooks says it this way: A Great Story is like a House of Cards- Each level bears weight and demands artful balance, and when you swap out one card for another the whole thing teeters for a while, until you make it work.  The principles of gravity and balance are the only forces available to make revising that house of cards so successful.

It IS a tearing down, a swapping out of the parts that do not work with the parts that do.  You may need to tear it down more than once but that is okay because our stories often need to fall apart more than once before they will fall into place.  And that is further okay because every one of those drafts counts.  In “Dig In or Cut Yourself Free” written by Andromeda Romano-Lax in the Writer’s Digest Jan/Feb 2022 issue:  the author quotes  Andre Bubus III with this;  I don’t exaggerate when I say that 90 to 95 percent of whatever I put out into the world rose from the ashes of what failed or from what I wanted to write.  To which he adds; Sometimes, he laughs, You throw it all out.  Jordan Rosenfeld in her May/June 2021 Writer’s Digest article; “Open Endings”,  also says it this way; Sometimes it takes multiple drafts to achieve the ending you’ve been seeking.

Like the broken relationship between the two people I love, torn down to allow the time and the space to rebuild themselves – to ultimately land them in the right relationship that will work, the broken pieces from our drafts can be fixed, and made better or discarded to make space for the pieces that will fit. And regardless of how many tears shed or how many promises were broken within each relationship we had, each draft that we thought perfect and permanent while we were there in that chapter at that moment, laid the foundation for a new, improved chapter later.

Each draft, whether in a real-life relationship story or any other life- story, or in the fictional story we craft, has a time and a purpose and those drafts we write and rewrite will always be worth our time, effort and heartbreak because in the end after those parts of our stories fall apart they will fall into place because, well-  every draft counts.

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Dear Reader, I thank you once again for following along on my blog journey this thirteenth year and I hope as you worked on each of your own chapter drafts of 2025, they carried with them much joy, love and good health in addition to the lessons they taught and the memories they created, and that the chapters ahead continue to build upon them.  In the words of Richard Paul Evans’ in his heartfelt story; “The Christmas Stranger”; The promise of life, like a book, is that the end of each chapter is the beginning of the next.  It is my wish that each of your beginning chapters carries with it those lessons and love from each previous chapter.   Because, as is quoted by Soren Keirkegaard  in Evans’ novel’s  acknowledgments;  Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.