Snow White and the Seven Drafts

By Pedro de Alcantara

"Know thyself," the ancients enjoined. There's nothing harder in this life than developing a little objectivity about yourself. This is especially true for writers, who must face the challenge with each word they write.

My first children's novel, Befiddled, was published by Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House) in November, 2005. But the book was born in the winter of 1994, more than a decade earlier. Although I had published two books of nonfiction, at that time my writing for children was insufficiently developed to be publishable, consisting of unstructured short jokes, poems, and sketches. Then I met children's author Susie Morgenstern at a conference, who suggested I write like someone who needs to make a living from his writing. Her stern yet loving comment was just the kick I needed to launch my novel project.

Susie also gave me my premise. Besides being a writer, I'm a cellist and teacher of the Alexander Technique, a method for improving your coordination and well-being through changes in the way you react to the world around you. "Can you explain the Alexander Technique to a child?" Susie asked me. Befiddled is the answer.

It took me about two years to write my first draft. Befiddled recounts the aspirations of a 13-year-old violinist, Becky Cohen. Becky suffers from stage fright, an unsupportive mother, an impatient violin teacher, and the scorn of her classmates. Her allies are her younger brother Benjy, and Roy Freeman, an older man who becomes her mentor. The book contains a number of autobiographical elements. I was very much like my heroine when I was her age: awkward, introspective, full of music dreams. In other ways I was like my heroine's brother, a precocious boy in thrall to words. And my adult self is like my heroine's mentor, a teacher who helps musicians find their vital center in order to play and live better. Befiddled comes from deep within myself, and I laughed a lot and shed many tears writing it.

Naturally, then, I thought my first draft was a masterpiece, its 22,000 words of sheer brilliance spread over 17 chapters and an epilogue. The basic plot was there: the heroine's quest, her obstacles, her ultimate triumph. The book's most important relationship, between Becky and her mentor, was fully established. No doubt about it: I had created a great little book.

I showed the draft to a few people. Someone thought it perfect, but I suspect she was just being polite. Someone else liked it but saw gaps and contradictions. Susie Morgenstern told me the book would be much loved by its readers-- but only after I revised it.

Distancing myself from the material, from the personal identification with it, and from my sense of accomplishment and pride was very difficult. I knew my friendly critics were right. But I didn't know how to proceed, and worse still, I didn't want to change my book. My book was ME! And I was proud of it! I ended up putting the manuscript aside for four years, during which I worked on a number of other projects.

But then I thought of having Becky's brother, Benjy, write The Splinter, a monthly newspaper. It would provide lots of humor and a second point of view, with newspaper issues running over a school year from October to June. I wrote the newspapers, inserted them into the manuscript, and adjusted the original text as needed.

Now I was sure I had written a great book! I eagerly showed my second draft to my readers. But they thought there remained a number of problems, plus a few new ones: The Splinter wasn't organic to the rest of the text; Becky's friendlessness was implausible; Becky's bullying violin teacher disappeared after the first chapter. I took care of each problem in turn. I wrote new chapters and scenes, created a friend for Becky, and fleshed out her school life and her relationships with her schoolmates. My third draft had 22 chapters in total, plus nine issues of The Splinter.

Perhaps I was beginning to wise up, however, because upon re-reading it, I now caught infelicities of construction and shifts in point of view. How come I had never seen these flaws before? I could barely believe I had shown such imperfect work to so many people. I revised the entire manuscript, and my fourth draft stretched to 35,000 words-- more than 50% longer than my first, which in retrospect seemed painfully deficient.

By now, I had worked on Befiddled on and off for nine years. The time had come for me to try to publish it. Luck came my way: at a small party given by my best friend, I met a woman who put me in touch with her sister, an agent specializing in children's literature. I submitted my manuscript to her, and although she liked it, she caught some problems. The opening was weak and the author's voice somewhat intrusive throughout the book. The agent intimated she might take me on as a client if I reworked the manuscript.

I wrote a new issue of The Splinter, which became the actual opening for the book, and did an extreme rewrite of the first chapter. I also made hundreds of new changes to the rest of the text. My agent submitted the book, now in its fifth draft, to publishers. Random House made us an offer three months later.

When I heard the news I nearly suffered a heart attack, so intense was my joy. My hard work had finally paid off, and I was on my way to a quick publication, fame, and riches!

Needless to say, I was wrong, again. My editor spotted some weaknesses. Benjy's behavior was inconsistent throughout the book; a secondary but important character disappeared for long stretches; and Becky's main rival needed to play a bigger role. Once again I crafted new chapters and scenes. Six drafts and nine years after my first creative impulse, the manuscript finally went to the copy editor.

This time there was no question: I was the proud father of a masterpiece. I was just about to pass out the cigars when I received my copy editor's comments. I couldn't believe it! My beautiful baby had dozens of red marks on every page-- typos, factual errors, every last writerly blunder you can think of. But as I worked through the copy editor's suggestions, I saw how right she was, and I became grateful for her high standards.

I finished my seventh draft, and to my relief it went into production. Befiddled came out in November, 2005, almost eleven years since my pen had first touched paper. Here are some of the things I learned during that stretched-out decade:

Pedro de Alcantara is the author of Befiddled, a children's novel. He's currently writing a second novel for Random House. Tentatively titled Latrella Rewinds, it's a time-travel epic of New York City in the first half of the 20^th century.

His other books include Indirect Procedures: A Musician's Guide to the Alexander Technique (Oxford University Press, 1997); and The Alexander Technique: A Skill for Life (Crowood Press, 1999). He lives in Paris and travels the world giving master classes and seminars for musicians.

Visit his site, www.pedrodealcantara.com, to read original articles and essays and to order copies of his books.

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