First Giraffes

What is a First Giraffe?

First drafts are an essential part of my process when I write. If anything I do makes it, as a little friend in the first grade said, “a first giraffe,” then I know I will continue with it. He then asked how many giraffes does it take to make a story? I told him as many as want to come along for the ride.

How many giraffes, or drafts, should a writer do?

We have been taught in school, unfortunately, that we need to get things done fast and as instantly as possible by the sheer lack of time many curricula insist on. They do this by saying you get an assignment on Monday and need to have it done before Friday to hand in. Now there is nothing wrong with deadlines, however, to write anything well and complete as possible it takes time. It also takes many more drafts than we often expect.
 
How many? It takes as many as it takes until the work is done. Seldom does a good work happen in only in three days as is often the case in schools. It is difficult to teach that real-time writing is a mythological kingdom where time holds no bounds, but is a difficult taskmaster when it wants to be.

What is a First Draft?

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