Twisted50 was my first foray into horror, yet “The Director’s Cut” remains one of my best work because it was so thoroughly edited before the first submission.

That’s the key to my writing process: editing. Without that, my story would be shit. Accepting this truth helps me move on from Rough Draft Paralysis, when you keep trying to perfect the first draft and never actually finish the story.

I accept that no matter how hard I try, the rough draft will be shit. I let it be shit. And I let the second draft be a (slightly less stinky version of) shit too. I have faith it will get better with each subsequent edit.

And it does. This is because I outline the story beforehand and then dump all my brain juice on the page, no editing as I go—that comes after. Then I trim and cut, tweak and experiment, take a break and return to hone the rough edges, and finally, I pass it on to my team of beta readers, which includes a small group of enthusiastic readers, critical family members, English teachers, and grammar police.

By this point, any writer ego I developed has been thoroughly crushed but my story is great.

Twisted50 was a thoroughly enjoyable (and at times stressful) experience, and I would definitely do it again!

Ryan Reudell

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