Okay, I know, I’m two days late. My blog was being switched over to a new host. I didn’t mind though because I wasn’t sure what to say. Until a fly buzzed across the room.

So far, in the blog series on writing, I’ve covered everything I do before I write a first draft. I create the idea, plot, outline and all that good stuff. (Scroll down and you’ll find the posts. Sorry I’ve been at the ocean all day and I’m exhausted.)

Because I do all of the big plotting beforehand I didn’t want to repeat myself. I have no secret method or weapon that pushes me through the first draft. I don’t often get stuck because I get all the sticky stuff out during the plotting part. I hit my walls then.

When I sit down to write a first draft, I set goals: 1-2 thousand words a day and 5 thousand words a week. And if I go over – great. I write in order from the beginning to the end. If I have to stop to replot, I do. And then I jump right back into it.

I guess I can’t end the post without explaining about the flies. I hate flies. All kinds of flies. But especially big black buzzy house ones. I swear they are possessed. I try and kill them, usually with my shoe; and if I miss, they come back and dive bomb me. Totally freaking me out. So, I go on the hunt. I grab my flop and follow the bugger through out the house, swinging wildly until I kill it. And I always kill it. I’m always the victor. I never give up.

And that’s how I finish my first draft. Relentless. Driven. Fingers to the keyboard.

(My method of exterminating house flies was mostly foolproof – until my son tried to follow in my footsteps, except he used a 2 inch thick book and broke a window.)

Do you have any tips or top secret methods to finishing a first draft? Or tell me about the insect you hate the most and why. Let me know I’m not alone.