First time writer asking about drafts

[MarcellusHarper]

So, I've had this story idea sort of haunting me for quite a while so I finally decided that the only way to exorcise it was to go ahead and write it. I'm a couple chapters in now and don't really like a lot of what I've produced. Not trying to be too critical of myself because this is a first effort but some of the narrative just doesn't really work or strikes me as kind of lame. I have ideas on how to go back and do some things differently but in ways that really alter the core concept.

I remember WAY back in high school, a teacher saying, "don't get too attached to your first draft" but I'd like to hear from some more experienced writers here. I get that this is probably a very subjective thing but I'm wondering if other writers allow second or third drafts to sort of go where they will or if it's better to kind of exert some willpower and stick with the original core concept.

 

[NotWise]

So, I've had this story idea sort of haunting me for quite a while so I finally decided that the only way to exorcise it was to go ahead and write it. I'm a couple chapters in now and don't really like a lot of what I've produced. Not trying to be too critical of myself because this is a first effort but some of the narrative just doesn't really work or strikes me as kind of lame. I have ideas on how to go back and do some things differently but in ways that really alter the core concept.

I remember WAY back in high school, a teacher saying, "don't get too attached to your first draft" but I'd like to hear from some more experienced writers here. I get that this is probably a very subjective thing but I'm wondering if other writers allow second or third drafts to sort of go where they will or if it's better to kind of exert some willpower and stick with the original core concept.

Your second and third drafts need to go where the story is taking you.

In some of my earliest stories (pre-Lit) I wrote hot and put a lot of words on paper before I realized it wasn't what I wanted. I reached a break, went back, and rewrote about 40k words, switching third person to first person and narrative to dialog.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I often run into your situation. On my file, I'll have Story, Story1, Story2 and maybe Story3, each indicating a shift in course. If a change doesn't work, I can always go back.

Write what you think works.

Good luck and let us know when it goes up, please.

 

[AlinaX]

I quite often abandon and sometimes also delete stories that aren't working for me. It's unusual for me to make major changes to a draft. Easier to start from scratch.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's hard to answer this in the abstract without knowing more specifics about the story, but if you are sufficiently concerned about where the story has gone so far I would suggest stopping, rethinking your core concept, and determining whether you want this to be a different story. I've done this. You may want to just start from the beginning and start over. No problem with that.

I strongly agree with the idea not to get too attached to your story. Get attached to your writing instead. That's different. If the story isn't working, rip it up and start over. Focus on the process. But on the other hand, don't demand perfection from yourself before publishing something. Sometimes it's OK when you are far along in a story to tell yourself, "It's not going to be perfect and may not completely fulfill my expectations, but I'm going to just publish it and move on to the next story." I've done that, too.

 

[Privates1stClass]

You might find it helpful to bounce your story off a friend, spouse, or significant other. I've been lucky to have found some other authors here on LIT to whom I've sent my first draft. Their ideas have provided significant improvements in most cases. At other times, they've shot down the entire story, saving me considerable time and effort.

Good luck with your writing and keep us posted when your story is up.

 

[shakespeare_i_aint]

Characters and their motivations (and subsequently, their words) can change while they are being written and the consequence of those changes affect the whole tone of your story.

Assess the difference between what you've written and the new direction that is suggesting itself and decide which one of the two stories finishes better. Either choice is fine because both are your ideas.

As a practical matter, you should keep a copy of your original unfinished/unchanged work before your major rewrite in case those words are ever wanted again to help in another story.

 

[DarkWhispers2U]

Go with your gut, I say.

So, I've had this story idea sort of haunting me for quite a while so I finally decided that the only way to exorcise it was to go ahead and write it. I'm a couple chapters in now and don't really like a lot of what I've produced. Not trying to be too critical of myself because this is a first effort but some of the narrative just doesn't really work or strikes me as kind of lame. I have ideas on how to go back and do some things differently but in ways that really alter the core concept.

I remember WAY back in high school, a teacher saying, "don't get too attached to your first draft" but I'd like to hear from some more experienced writers here. I get that this is probably a very subjective thing but I'm wondering if other writers allow second or third drafts to sort of go where they will or if it's better to kind of exert some willpower and stick with the original core concept.

I drove my writing and English teachers nuts because I was incapable of turning in a first draft piece. The instant I felt something was off, I had to go back and fix it. Their idea of the draft-by-draft writing process just did not work for me. You might be similar.

As for keeping with the original concept, I say go with your gut. If the story wants to develop in a new direction, maybe you should play with it a bit, see if the new path feels natural, or even necessary for the type of tale you want to write. Perhaps the way you've envisioned your setting and/or characters doesn't allow you to believably produce the sort of story you first conceived.

I spent five years on a redeeming-the-villian story just to get to the end and realize that the guy had to be executed to fulfill his character arc, which saddened me quite a bit, but really it was the only believable consequence with all the bad things he'd done in the past. I'd set out to write a romance/adventure of sorts and ended up with a drama/tragedy. It happens.

 

[KeithD]

My first draft basically is it. I rarely cut, always add in review, but also basically end up with what was in the first draft.

 

[HeyAll]

I don't think in terms of drafts.

I try to write it to the best of my abilities.

Then I go back and edit certain parts with revisions too.

Afterwards I'll give it a final edit where I read the whole thing from top to bottom, and I usually end up cutting a lot of small things out.

 

[SamScribble]

^^^ I'm like Keith. But that may have something to do with having spent most of the past 60 years writing for a living. Hopefully, the more you write the easier it will become.

Good luck.

 

[WinsomeWeb]

I remember hearing an artist once say, don't do your thinking on the page; think before you make your mark. Now, personally, that doesn't work for me at all. When it comes to writing, I can't do my thinking anywhere else but the page, which means that I end up rewriting a lot of things. I'll start with a draft and write until I've hit the end of the story, focusing mostly on just telling myself the story. Then, I'll take what I like from that draft and build on it with the next draft, refining and drilling down deeper into the interesting parts as necessary and omitting the parts that don't go anywhere. Sometimes, it only takes two or three attempts, but usually--and especially with stories that are >15K-ish words--it takes more than that.

The earliest of these drafts are always awkward, clumsy, hokey, stupid things that take startling turns and make no sense to anyone but me. Characters show up randomly because I've decided they now exist, objects and things suddenly appear and disappear in scenes because I've decided they're now more or less important to the story, and characters' personalities and motivations are like a children's game of mad libs. But that's all okay, because I know that this is how I have to do my thinking to discover the story I want to tell.

The way I do it, it's not a very efficient way to write. If I had to fulfill an obligation to write a book every eight to twelve months I probably wouldn't make it once but every five years, but, as a hobbyist, it's a process that works for me.

If you hate this kind of iterative process, then there isn't anything wrong with being precious about your first draft either. You should just try to frontload more of the planning that goes into the story (who, what, where, when, why) so that when you sit down to write that good draft, you won't have to do your thinking on the page.

 

[ChloeTzang]

^^^ I'm like Keith. But that may have something to do with having spent most of the past 60 years writing for a living. Hopefully, the more you write the easier it will become.

Good luck.

Sometimes I’m like that, other times I’ll toss away draft after draft and rewrite. I never actually delete anything tho.

 

[WatchingCloud]

I fall in the camp of doing almost nothing but a line edit for grammar after my first draft. I do outline everything to some degree before starting, though, so I know my characters and the major story beats. I can usually tell after a page or two if a story I'm trying to write will work or not...at which point I proceed or abandon it.

That said, I've done a lot of writing. Experience counts for a lot in getting that feel for clearly conveying one's story. Take bits of advice from as many sources as you can find, then distill it into your own best methodology.

 

[KeithD]

^^^ I'm like Keith. But that may have something to do with having spent most of the past 60 years writing for a living. Hopefully, the more you write the easier it will become.

Good luck.

That's the same for me. In one of my career phases, I was writing analysis going into the PDB--the President's Daily Brief. Writing was time sensitive. The first write and a very brief rescan was all the time you had--and it better be succinct, correct, and polished.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I fall in the camp of doing almost nothing but a line edit for grammar after my first draft. I do outline everything to some degree before starting, though, so I know my characters and the major story beats. I can usually tell after a page or two if a story I'm trying to write will work or not...at which point I proceed or abandon it.

Yep, pretty much me, but without the outline (it's in my subconscious, where it bubbles along quite happily). 98% of my first draft makes it to the final, my edit covers typos, grammar, changing words to keep the beat, the occasional phrase and sentence. Paragraphs occasionally, moved around, but that's rare.

I'm very much a stream of consciousness writer, and need the spontaneity to keep it raw and intimate. I guess I rely on the principle that, if there are enough bright diamonds, you don't need to polish the stones. Sometimes glittering fragments in sand will do it, but I couldn't build a whole beach (which some folk seem to do).