By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig
One of the big mysteries to me when I was starting out as a writer was where the drafting “sweet spot” was. Some writers seemed to have things down to a science, doing specific edits during specific drafts. Some seemed like their drafts were random tweaks during each read-through.
There didn’t seem to be a formula for it, so I stumbled around for a while. I wasn’t even sure what qualified for a draft. Was it when I made a full pass through the document? Was it when I changed a certain percentage of the document?
Now that I’ve been writing for a while, I’ve developed my own process toward drafting. That’s the best way for writers to handle it: find what works best. For me, it’s writing straight through the manuscript, eschewing editing and skipping chapter breaks, most description, and some subplots until the next draft.
Along the way, I’ve seen two troubling areas for writers approaching drafting.
One is the writer who is so relieved to have gotten to the end of their manuscript that they can’t get it submitted fast enough. This is going to be problematic for a variety of reasons. One is that the editing process, if you’re paying for an editor, is probably going to be pretty expensive. At any rate, it’s going to be a lot more expensive than if you’d settled down, read it through, and made corrections. For the querying writer, you’re likely delivering a mess into someone’s inbox at an agency or publisher.
Just as much of a problem is the writer who never stops drafting. The writer who second-guesses every word and who’s done countless drafts. This insecurity or perfectionism can keep writers from submitting their work or from publishing it themselves.
Maybe everything is better with moderation. There’s no hurry to rush something out of the gate. But there’s no need to sit on a manuscript through countless iterations, either.
Has your drafting process changed through the years? What kind of drafter are you?
Drafting: Too Many Drafts, Too Few: Share on X
I know a writer who never stops drafting. Or complaining about it.
You write like I do! Plow through, no breaks, little description, just get it done so I have something to work with.
It’s tough to see sometimes. Good books can get whittled away to nothing, ugh.
I prefer editing much more than the writing of the draft. I edit as I go, which makes the drafting process more enjoyable. I also have fewer rounds of revisions to make. It's what's working for me now.
And what’s working for you is definitely what you need to stick with!
What an interesting topic, Elizabeth!! I've learned the hard way not to push that 'SUBMIT' button too quickly. It's hard to settle down to the nitty gritty of revision, but it's so necessary. I wouldn't say I have a set-in-stone process for drafting. But it's critical. Right now, I'm working on last edits for my book coming out in July, and I am *still* finding little things that need to be fixed. After five drafts!
So excited for you and your upcoming release!
It has changed. I used to edit as I wrote. I'd go back and edit some up to the part where I stopped and then keep writing. Now I tend to just go through the first draft. I still handwrite some of them, though.
I’ve changed some too, over the years. It’s good to have a sort of automatic process developed.
I'm guilty of both. My first book, I paid careful attention to every single word. I edited and refined and edited some more, especially the first chapter. When it went to edit, the editor thought the first chapter sounded stiff and asked if I could go over it again. I still had my original draft, so I sent that over and my editor told me I did a great job on the rewrites. Another one of my books, I wrote with input from fans. I was writing and sharing the story in chunks (like a free vella story) and they would chime in with changes and directions. By the end, I had a 100,000 word story that I should have chopped to 75,000 or 80,000 but was kind of tired of dealing with it, so I released it. It's soggy in the middle and I regret that now.
Oh my gosh! That’s too funny that they thought the original draft worked better. :) It just goes to show it’s easy to overthink things.
Sounds like a lot of fans connected with your serial! Maybe the middle wasn’t too bad after all, ha.
I grinned through this whole post!
I think I was a never-ending drafter with my first book. Over and over and over.
Thankfully, I've learned a lot! I think I've found my groove, although every book is just a little different :)
That’s so great that you found your groove! Yay for that!
Writers need to adapt their drafting to make sense to their brain. I'm mostly a visual learner. I revisit my notes and sometimes rewrite them. This is the part I have to be careful about. Rewriting everything to death means for me it goes nowhere. Sitting on my writing is a problem for me.
Thanks for another wonderful article!
Thanks for coming by, Teresa!