These are pages six and seven of the final draft of The Language of Bees. The tentative first draft here has a clear sense (to the author, anyway) of where it is going and what needs to take place here, at the beginning, to set the scene for the pages to come. >

This is page four of the original first draft of The Language of Bees. The equivalent pages of the final draft will be posted on Friday, following my guest post at A Striped Armchair tomorrow. (For a bonus, read her review of Beekeeper’s Apprentice today!)

These are pages four and five of the final draft of The Language of Bees. My first drafts tend to be brief, with sections that are skeletal, as I feel my way through the plot and the situation. The rewrite for a 350 page first draft, for example, tends to end up at around 450…

This is page three of the original first draft of The Language of Bees–the equivalent pages of the final draft will be posted tomorrow. (Click on each image to enlarge.)

We’re posting the actual first pages of The Language of Bees, as an illustration of the rewrite process.  Yesterday’s first draft has become today’s final proof page (if you have trouble reading this image or yesterday’s, just try clicking on it):

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to post what you can regard either as terrible teasers, or as lessons in the writing process, depending on how desperate you are for the book. These are the actual ms pages of The Language of Bees, the original sheets that came out of my printer, with scribbles.…

During the Fifteen Weeks project, some of my Muttering will be done elsewhere.  Such as this week’s guest blog over at Bookish Ruth, in which I talk about writing Russell.  Do join us there, but do come back later this week when I give the first taste of The Language of Bees.