Bribe

I got the requisite 8 pages typed yesterday and have been reading Blake Snyder's Save the Cat in an attempt to have a not-quite-as-crappy-as-it-could-be first draft.  Which then led to my thinking about re-structuring the whole story.  Which led me to thinking maybe I should start over.  Which led me to thinking about bribing myself to finish this draft.

Which leads us to this post.

I know the first draft is supposed to be rough.  I know it's usually something you hide in order to spare yourself embarrassment at a later date.  But I keep hoping that MY drafts won't be so unpolished.

Which is silly and unrealistic.  Reading through early drafts of Beetlejuice, Labyrinth and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, I can see things that changed, got cut out, dialogue that got tightened, action sequences that were interspersed...even Labyrinth (I came up with a much better ending...at least I think I did) and Beetlejuice, while not extremely great movies, ended up much better because someone took the time to polish draft after draft until it was as good as it could be.

These things take time.  And several more drafts.

I just have to remind myself that if I think of a better way to structure my story, I need to write it down and then keep working on this draft.

And maybe bribe myself with a piece of chocolate every day I meet my page goal.

Do you bribe yourself with a treat (a new book, a shopping trip, a snack) in order to get work done?  This is a common trait among NaNoWriMo participants.  We live on sugar in November.  Almost literally.

Do you think up better ways to craft a story WHILE you're working on it?  What do you do with those ideas?