Anne Norda is a creativity coach who helps unlock your storytelling power. After completing the first draft, the real work begins to hone and tighten your story. It is a distinct process requiring different parts of the brain.
The terms may not immediately make sense, but ultimately they relate to the difference between the first splatter draft when everything you think of ends up on the page and the disciplined, tightly-structured story that is your final draft.
Your ultimate job is to maintain the audience’s connection to the story.
FIRST DRAFT SECOND DRAFT
| Uses mainly the Right Brain (creative) | Uses mainly the Left Brain (logical) |
| Emotional writing. Writing from the heart. Freeform. | Logical writing. Structure, plot points. Story begins to take shape. |
| Connected to your emotions. Write what you feel. | Intellectual. Write what best serves the story. |
| Discover Your Characters | Know Your Characters |
| Be surprised, wherever the story takes you. | Flow. Structure. You start making definite story choices. |
| Laugh Out Loud at some the seeming nonsense you’ve written. | Balance as you remove unnecessary story elements. |
| Cry from the gut. Loose | Pace |
| Poetic freeform | Structured Rhythm |
| Indulge | Tempo |
| Inspiration from inner world | Inspiration from outer world |
| Run on sentences and emotions | Character arc |
| Dialog galore | Character development |
| Make it big and visual | Relationship growth |
| Wallow in the details | Simplify |
| Way Outside the box | Complicate |
| Tip toe through the tulips. Explore | Hone |
| Be embarrassed at the thought of someone else reading it. | Details, unclutter |
| Feel wicked | Big picture |
| Ride your empathy | Manipulate |
| Epiphany | Impact on audience |
| Giggle | Consider the reader |
| Feels too simple | Chew on it |
| Feels too complex | Outline |
| Impact on self | Shuffle |
| Gauge with gut | Targeted research |
| Intuition | Similar stories/projects |
| Unique Voice | Sharpen Voice |
Posted on June 17, 2012
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