the death of the zero draft | a writing vlog

This is a personal one!!! The long awaited update on project house of stone is here and we dive pretty deep into the words I wrote over the last few days. This type of video style is so new to me, so let me know if you like it! Don't tell me if you hate it 😂 (also my face is so red and puffy in this but ya girl is still having an overactive histamine response!)

Fun vlog! Love that you just trusted your feelings and started writing. ❤

Wow, your rough drafts are really GOOD, Mik! I really loved the first draft because it instantly made the main character Helen more sympathetic - I immediately felt for her and wanted to see her overcome her obstacles and achieve her goal. I also tend to default to third person because first person can be limiting but I do love the ease with which character voice emerges via first person and how closely a reader can become with a character. Also, between the crocs and the coffee shop, this vlog was ADORABLE :)

OH MY GOSHHHHH, HOLY SHIT. Mik, when you were reading the third person, I was on my phone texting. I found myself lacking a connection. When u started reading 1st person, i was still texting. However, as my ears listened, I became entranced. My phone went down, my eyes fixed on the subtitles, and you PULLED ME IN! When you finished reading, I literally said, "Oh shit," and I don't curse, so that's how I know that was good.

While I am a 3rd person girlie, the st person Pov suites this story so. Well!

Omg that was an AWESOME first draft! I loved them both but I can feel your energy with first and THATS how you know. Great vlog!!

Do you personally write in your subtitles or is there a software for that?! I’d love to have something like that for my videos but I haven’t seen one like yours before

How awesome! I love finding other writing vlogs out there to see what others are doing. We all deserve to live our writing dreams! I love how the POVs move in the video and the music made it more engaging! Glad to meet'cha, Mik Wrikes! I am a writer myself and barely started recording my own writing journey! :)

I love hearing someone talk about the decision of 1st vs 3rd! It’s something I’ve always struggled with on several projects. This rough draft I’m working on now, I wrote 13k into it in 3rd person but the whole time my brain was thinking in 1st. There were times I was debating writing sections in 1st just so I could convert it to 3rd so I finally just gave in, stopped, and rewrote it all in 1st for some reason this particular story is just flowing for me better in 1st. Both of your versions sounded great but I felt more sucked into your 1st person version! Thanks for sharing it!

Loving the chaos! Great job.

aw you seem so much more excited about writing from first person, so definitely keep going with that! i feel you on being sick and tired with plotting and just wanting to write already😆 this was such a cozy first vlog, and i’m excited to see more💞 (also, idk how you’re juggling so many responsibilities. i hope you’re taking time off of content creation, work, and writing for yourself too!)

I’ve been wanting an alphasmart and this is my sign 😇 lovely vlog!!

First person is good, but it is going to make it hell to feel for the other characters. I think that's the reason I'm not too into "Outlander." Gabaldon writes in first person for Claire and we don't get any real insight into Jamie. Both were really good though. I'm like you in the third person. I get stuck in the scene trying to figure out what is relevant information. I've never tried first person because I like knowing what everyone is feeling. But I understand your conundrum. It's great writing though. Both versions.

zero drafts, first drafts, are suppose to be garbage on a page. You can't edit a blank page. It's great that you went right in when you were ready to write, instead of stressing to much over having a perfect outline. I have changed my outline so many times depending on my drafts and it gets better the more you write.

I'm generally not the biggest fan of first person, but damn that 1st person paragraph was way stronger and a clearer read!

The mixed tenses in the third person version is an editor's nightmare. It's becoming a more common problem compared to when I started editing way back when. Whichever one you decide to go with, it is advisable you get a firm grasp on the verb tense during your zero/first draft because of 101 problems you might face in revision, this should be the least of your worries during subsequent drafts.

I love the 1st person but also the way you describe things in the third person is very intriguing. They both work :)

This was so amazing and refreshing. I’ve been procrastinating, feeling like my writing is not being good enough. So just seeing how you overcame difficulties (RIP Zero draft 😂) inspires me to keep going.
So you keep going too! Both your 3rd person and 1st sounded intriguing… so keep us updated on your progress. And if you need Beta readers keep us in mind. Regardless, I’m looking forward to one day seeing your novel on shelves 😊

love love loveeee the vlog mik! The vlogs can be tough because you don't have a script to refine so it can often feel like we're rambling/not making sense/ sharing too much, but you did an amazing job (: i'm biased though, so i absolutely want more vlogs lolol

as for the POVs, hearing it in first person felt more raw? much more intimate?? you really do have such a way with words and i'm so excited for you to actually begin drafting!! <3

Really cool thumbnail!

Ursula K Le Guin's book 'Steering the Craft' has a brilliant few chapters on point of view, I feel like it'll be helpful if you want to read up on the further potential on different persons and tenses! This was a lot of fun to follow, I like the relaxed vibe that you have in your vlogs :)

Literally LOVE a zero draft!!!!

Alphasmart and Freewrite are two different companies btw. Alphasmart went defunct in 2005 and Freewrite just celebrated their 10 year anniversary. Anyways! Loved the vlog!

The first person pov feels close, intimate and gives me a better understanding of how the character is thinking and feeling. Very immersive, mysterious and eerie. Your writing is great so far. you should be proud and my interest is piqued!

Omg I love your vlogs/videos in general. You're my favorite authortuber. Your videos always make my days better and give me motivation to write and get out of a rut. (I've been in a writing rut for a few weeks now.)

Great video! I usually write first person, so I may experiment with third. Always look forward to you sharing your process.

I've been trying out so many recipes lately and now you have me wanting to make a nice fall soup even though it's spring here.

I was really liking the 3rd person - it sucked me in, but when you read the 1st person, I really felt that fear and I got chills. Loved that!

Just wanted to say I imagine the timed captioning of the video takes a lot of time/work but it is very much appreciated!!

I love the 1st person pov. I really felt as if I was in her head and how hard of a time she was having. And, ironically, through that I got a better sense of everything else, her surroundings and all. Like how you said in 3rd person you were focusing too much on the room and not enough on what was happening with her, because in the 1st person pov you focused much more on her, I actually got a better feel for the state she was in and could imagine her much more clearly in my head. Crazy how that works!

Some times it really does just depend on the story. Some times 3rd works perfectly, some times 1st is the way to go. It's why I don't have a preference for POVs when it comes to reading or writing, I like them all!

Yay a new video— and a very personal one too. I personally like chatty writing vlogs, feels like a friend is talking to me and telling me all their writing highs and lows ♥️ Congrats on delving into draft one!! This is so exciting! (And hugs and kisses to the zero draft, she will be missed 😢)

Love the vlog style content, Mik. I am going to have to guard my wallet because Becca and now YOU are really influencing me to buy an alpha smart... LOL // I am soooo excited about soup season! It's the true sign that fall has arrived for me! // Lastly, one of these days, I need you to show me how you made your scrivener background look so aesthetically pleasing! // Love the video and I am so happy for you as you embark on this first draft journey! :D

also manifesting fall weather!!! it's getting there, but it's not /quite/ fall enough lol. all that cafe food looked delicious, and those soup recipes chef kiss

THAT FIRST PERSON VERSION THOUGH!! not that the third person draft was bad, but i think you're right that it can get us stuck as writers on positions rather than... the story itself? that's SO cool that she can see ghosts!!! her voice was much clearer in my opinion.

i'm going to go watch your author voice podcast now because that's something i'm struggling with constantly. i feel like my main character is just... a character in a book lol 🥲 i also only write in 3rd person now-a-days so this is going to be revolutionary if changing to 1st person works wonders!

Finally here early! Good to see you Mik 💕

I very much appreciate how real this is. Your writing is very good- I definitely agree, the 1st person iteration is much better :)

Wow, first draft giiirl🎉 I like ur first pov more too, it sounded very mysterious!

🎉