In the first draft of his novel, Cape May, Chip Cheek made a beautiful mess.

Chip wasn't sure what era he wanted his novel to be set in, so during his first draft, he wrote the book in all of them. How might he do that, you may ask. As he explained it, he started the first chapter in one time period, then tried another option in the next chapter and then so on through the whole book.

He checked in with how each time felt, took the options to his writing group, and then decided based on which time had the most to offer the story. Brilliant! If you have one element of your book you're unsure of, try writing as many options as you can in the first draft. Let it be messy and see how each option feels on the page. Then upon revision, choose the best one and revise to match.

This and many more groundbreaking ideas in this week's episode of the podcast. I've been buzzing ever since we recorded- I know you will be to when you listen.

Full show notes with link here: https://www.secretlibrarypodcast.com/chip-cheek-150

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