Question by Lynn: B & A writers: Drafting-schmafting! Let’s be real, how many drafts do you do?
I’ve read plenty of articles by people who swear no one should do more than three drafts of a novel. They even get cocky and tell how to do that, but the truth is I’m not that smart and I can’t hold that many ideas in my head at once. I can look to kill off as many adverbs as possible. I can look to kill off my over abundance of directional words. (My poor character sit up, sit down, stand up, over, under, off, on and upside down occasionally, so I need to get rid of all those directions. lol) I can even look to get rid of “look” and all the other sensory words that distance the reader from my character. But, darn if I can do all that in one pass. I take 10 passes on one chapter before I get through the list of things I’m weak with, and then I have to make sure all the words are the best words for that spot and the fat is trimmed.
So, I’m on my nth revision. Honest! I have no way of counting what draft I’m on beyond knowing I keep putting the new ones into new folders only after revising the old ones once and then just saving that as the last revision. Right now, I have four versions saved. Considering each version had at least one revision, before I saved it, I know I’m past my 8th revision in two years.
So let’s just skip the “you should be able to polish your novel in three revisions” crap. That’s author talk! That’s stuff multiple-publication authors can spew–the type of writers who can write and polish a novel in less than a year–every year. Most of us are writers more than authors. (True, some have published, but it’s not yet a steady, comfortable income stream, once more the fulltime job, so, even if you’re published–which technically, I am, just not for fiction, nor a full book lol–feel free to chime in.)
But, I’m really asking how many drafts for that first novel?
And, if you have a memory better than mine, do you remember how many for each phase?
Phases:
Phase 1: Get the story down.
Phase 2: Get the story right. (That is make it flow properly, by kicking out the crap and inserting “better” until it flows “naturally.” (Naturally = a pile of crap. This ain’t natural. lol)
Phase 3: Get it looking good to the untrained eye–most readers.
Phase 4: Get it good enough to sell.
I feel for those who think they’re getting their butts kicked after finding out their first draft isn’t very good. I hope this helps them see it’s not supposed to be good–just written. Good comes later. How much later for you?
Travis, yeah, because “experts” always admit how stupid they are. Then again, at least I made a complete thought out of this. You?
David, ooooh, you’re “that guy.” The guy who does get how it can be done in three drafts. Some day, in two or three decades, I hope to be “that guy” too. lol
Ghostwriter, of course you count. Any guesses what draft you’re on for the 20 year old “this is the One” novel? My guess at eight was a guestimate. I’m assuming I’ve done way more than that, but that’s all I can semi-prove. It’s hard when we keep going back, before we even finish a round. You’re doing more, because you’ve committed to learning, before publication. Every time I learn something new, I keep wanting to go back again.
HP, so you’re braver than I am…or more logical…or know what you’re doing more…or all three. Cool! I hope to be like that one day too.
I’m so glad to hear I’m not the only one who can’t do it quickly. :D
S ü, Ugh, errr, I’m one of those people who can’t spell right the first time. (I was tempted to use “write” in that less sentence. lol) Grammar check and spell check will catch my problems with your/you’re, but honestly? Half the time I write passed when I mean past, and vice versa. I also go back and catch my your/you’re later, and let’s not get into they’re, there or their. (Then again, that’s one of several reasons no one sees my first draft ever. lol) I also have aphasia, so I accept nontraditional reasons why people might screw up. I’ve been known to write (and say) “why,” when I mean “while.” I know the meanings and know they’re different words, but some times my mind skips that part anyway. ;)
Best answer:
Answer by Travis
What makes u an expert
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