OLD DRAFTS - SPOILER ALERT!

On this page, I share parts of my first drafts of 8th Grade with My Awesome Adventures, My Various Visitors, & Me. This includes sensitive information about the plot as a whole, so if you haven't read the book yet, PLEASE don't scroll any further down this page! Instead, buy the book on Amazon, read it, and then you'll be welcome to explore this page :)

All of the drafts you will see below were written when I was between fourteen and sixteen years old. You'll notice that some parts were copied almost word for word into the final drafts, while others were changed dramatically. I find it fun to compare and contrast between the originals and the published books!

"Teases, Tricks, and... Danger?" wasn't changed too much, but for the final draft, I actually cut down on a lot of the details I'd written here. Also, I removed Pete's decision to go back to school, and instead just had him take his GED test later on.

Nalcie was originally just a kid Allisen met at school in 6th grade. The first time I mentioned Nalcie going to Allisen's church was right here, in "What Is A Family?" because I needed
some reason why it would be plausible for the parents to come up with this arrangement. When I started re-writing the series to publish it, I made sure to incorporate Nalcie going to Allisen's church from the very beginning!

Click through the images below to read the first draft of ​"The Pilgrims' Voyage"

"Snow Will Fall" didn't change very much at all. I included this excerpt because I liked the picture of the family all sitting around the fire. 

A deleted scene from "It's Good To Bee Smart." Shevea's family's minivan was going to come into play later on, in "What Friends Are For." I ended up changing that entire plotline, meaning that this scene was no longer necessary. I removed it because it didn't contribute to the story I wanted to focus on.

Below are an excerpt from "Position of Power" and an excerpt from "All of My Heart," neither of which changed much from the first to the final draft.

My character Lahchlia from "Pizza Petto / Pete Zepetto" came back into play here in "Springtime Surprises." 

Click through the images below to read excerpts from the first draft of
​"What Friends Are For"

I find this dance scene from "An Extended Visit" amusing, especially the part about Allisen stuffing a spicy cupcake in Jack's mouth. The dances in the old versions of my books always contained pranked food. I'm honestly not sure if I thought pranked food was a normal part of school dances, or if it was just something I made up because it was entertaining.

The idea of selling the movie Allisen, Mirisen, Harrisson, and Carolina made in "Lights! Camera! CUT!" surfaces in the final version, but doesn't go into this much detail. I'm not sure it's realistic for kids to make $37.50 selling a movie they made to their neighbors--maybe if the neighbors are really generous!

"The Summer Games" didn't change very much from the first draft to the final. I added a few more details and changed a couple things here and there. I mostly included this scan because I like the picture I drew of baby Zachary!

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