How many drafts do you write prior to the final product? I ask this mainly as a blogger, but it can apply to nearly anything—letters, stories. books (because I know there are book writers out there! 😉) For example, I have at least seven drafts in my new screenplay folder, four of which are labeled “draft-02.” And that doesn’t include the drafts for my screenwriting group, which are limited to 10-15 pages.

That pales in comparison to the number of draft posts for the blog, which is now up to 18 (19 if you count this post). They run the gamut from How to Train Your Dragon (yes, I still love that movie), which ended in 2019 with the release of The Hidden World, to internet nonsense.

So I thought I’d return to my Sunday Seven. Maybe not every week, and, in this case, not even on Sunday (because… it’s a freakin’ long story).

Here’s a sampling of some of my draft posts. Not all of them because 18 > 7 (“eighteen is greater than seven,” for those of you who don’t know [or have forgotten] math language). In reverse chronological order, from oldest to more recent

1.Back on the Dragon Train, dated all the way back in 2014: 
In which I detail my seven favorite music passages from the original movie. Interestingly, I had nine listed, along with two Honorable Mentions. I’ll say it again:

John Powell was robbed!

2. Society of Gentlemen: the trailer, February 2018:
Never heard of the movie?  That’s because it doesn’t exist. It’s a series of books and stories by K.J. Charles, a very popular author of historical gay romance. For now, just know that A Seditious Affair, the second book in the series (and my favorite) recently made the list of Parade Magazine’s 125 Best Romances of All Time. In fact, several LGBTQ books made the list, as well as some beloved classics. That’s progress for you! Love is love. 

3. Seven Favorite Books of 2018: This was the year I became interested in gay romance. Yeah, it surprised me, too. I don’t generally like romances, but for some reason gay romance caught my fancy. Hmm. I have two draft posts with the same title/subject. They look to be two copies of the same post.

4. “Tis the Season to Be Knitting, December 2020): 
Pretty much what it sounds like. Not a list of projects, it’s just some musings and moanings about what I can’t do as well as I’d like (if at all). I’ll likely delete it.

5. The Best. March 2021:
Yep, that’s the title. The Best what? OH! It appears to be pictures of the World’s Littlest Angel, my Gigi, with various photo filters applied. The funny thing is, Gigi passed away long before 2021, at the ripe old age of 20½. Maybe I was just reminiscing about her.

6. A Year of Washcloths, April 2021: 
One year I bought a calendar from Annie’s Catalog which featured different patterned washcloths every month, with instructions. I made several, but not all 12. I still have them. I may even still have the calendar somewhere.

7. The Colbert Questionert, Part 1, May 2021: A Late Show with Stephen Colbert has a list of 15 questions Stephen asks some of his biggest, most famous guests (think Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep big). He says the questions are “scientifically developed to reveal a person’s truest self” (or some shit like that) Obviously, this is only Part 1, because 15 > 7.