Well I did it, I actually managed to write 7 picture book drafts in 7 days. Of them, at least three are rather pathetic, but I think that two, or maybe even three have hope, given a rewrite and a spot of judicious polishing.
Having said that, due to the breakneck speed of the NaPiBoWriWee challenge I haven't looked at the stories since I finished each one, so it's entirely possible that I'll open the documents next week (when possible I leave any new writing 'in my drawer' for at least a week before assessing it) and find out that they are dreadful.
If that happens, I've resolved to try to save at least two of them! As Jack Gantos told us during his HK visit, writing the first draft is about 30% of the work. The rest is rewriting and honing. He claimed that this was his favourite part of the writing process. I can't say it's mine, but it is sort of exciting when you revisit something and find that it has promise. Fingers crossed that it happens this time!
In the meanwhile, I've been thinking about stories of a slightly different nature. The son's year group at school are about to start writing biographies of each other, and I've been invited in, to give a talk about why and how anecdotes are necessary in a biography to liven it up and to show (rather than tell) the reader what the subject is really like.
To find good examples of anecdotes, I've been trawling through a Word document I've been adding to since 1995 when the daughter first started saying hilarious things worth recording. The document, which runs to 31 pages and is nearly 15,000 words in length, is packed with memorable quotes from both the daughter and son with a few guest entries from other people, such as my mother*.
As the son will be in the audience for my talk, I (sadistically?) decided to pick out some funny anecdotes about him, to illustrate my points. Needless to say, he was horrified. In an effort to stop me, he told me that I would have to pay him, "a lot of money," were I to do such a heinous thing.
He was taken aback when I countered with a quick, "how much?" then engaged in a lively bargaining session. The upshot was that I managed to win the right to tell an anecdote about him for seventy HK dollars (less than US$10) - a small price to pay, especially considering I'd forgotten to give him his pocket money for the last three weeks.
Little does he know that I've moved on from the anecdote about his sleeping habits which I'd been talking about at the time, and have instead settled on one concerning a nappy, a poo, and a large dog. Will he still talk to me after Wednesday? I hope so, as he's very amusing to chat to.
Stay tuned...
*My mother, who I credit for giving me a kooky sense of humour, appears in the Best Quotes document several times. How could I not include the person, who, amongst other things, once hissed, "there's a really rude woman who is always staring at me, whenever I glance over," before pointing discreetly to a mirror about six metres away. To be fair, as she was getting her hair done, she didn't have her specs on, and she did roar with laughter when informed that the rude woman was her own reflection!
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