I remember at a Crime Writers’ event that Louise Penny and Mary Jane Maffini, talking to the group, agreed that the first draft of a book is… well, I won’t use the word they did, but you can use your imagination.
I wasn’t sure I agreed with what they were saying, but their words have come back to haunt me while working on the last couple of books.
I’m about halfway through the second draft of Bodies and Sole and realizing that, for me, anyway, this is where the layers of the story happen. This is where I fill the holes, deepen the motivations, explain the inexplicable.
The second draft allows me to breathe easier, knowing that I can make the story work, that what was thin and full of gaps is beefing up.
Soon it will be on to the third draft. That’s the polish.
Hilary Macleod 