Learning

Last night I finished Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman." I, like so many, claim her 'other' book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," as my favorite. "Watchman" was originally billed as a sequel, to "Mockingbird," but later it came out that it was more of the first draft of "Mockingbird." 

I can now say that this marks a turning point in my writing experience. "Mockingbird" is not just a great story with a great lesson, but her choice of words, her language, is so good. (Picture me sighing dreamily here)

Early on in "Watchman," I gazed at the pages with a look of confusion. "What the hell is this?" I said to myself, "It reads like a first draft." Well, as I did some research, I learned that it was indeed, a draft. 

Still, out of curiosity, I plunged further and further into it. By 10:53 last night, I came to a couple of conclusions. 

1- If "Watchman" could get turned and polished into "Mockingbird," anything is possible. Frankly, I'm at a loss for how it went from this draft to the finished product. I'm glad it did, but how is amazing. I would be interested in reading the middle drafts to see the whole process. 

Like all first drafts, it has some good parts, some bad parts, and some parts that nothing can save. My goodness, there were parts where I looked at and muttered, "What the ...?" Hidden within that mess were some of the language and ideas that made Mockingbird great, but kudos to Ms. Lee and her editors for making the changes. Especially some of the stuff that got cut completely- yikes!

2- I was quite pleased with myself for recognizing that it was a draft. And darn early, too! It marks some growth. And I'm pleased that I kept reading it with that thought in mind. It would have been easy to say, "This is terrible," and stopped reading. But instead, I read it for what it is- a work in progress. Considering that I have a work or five in progress, it was a good lesson for me. 

3- I made a giant, rookie mistake in schlepping my first book to agents. I should have spent a year or more polishing and revising. I was nowhere near ready for publication. Should I choose to go down that road again, I'll do it after some more serious editing. 

Still, for all of my concerns, "Watchman" has some of the beautiful language that made Harper Lee great. "Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends." It makes me wonder (and hope) if I can write something that deep. Maybe in a later draft.