When to re-read your draft on longer works?

[filthytrancendence]

My WIP has ballooned to the point where I'm forced to remember why I decided to stick to writing shorter stuff. But I like it, and I'm committed to finishing it.

I started writing a whole long thing about the specifics of the problem I'm facing right now, but realized it boils down to a pretty simple question:

When you're in the middle of writing something in the 50-75k word (or longer) range, what is your decision-making process on when it is productive to do a read of your entire current draft?

I think I tend to over-do this on shorter works, but that doesn't matter that much when it takes 30 minutes to read it. When re-reading the draft is a much more significant time commitment, it's not such an easy decision, as that represents quite a bit of potential writing time. What are your best practices on making this decision?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Everybody has their own process, I'd say. What works for me might not work for you. I have some experience with long works, and yeah, rereading drafts can become a serious time sink. Depending on the length of a chapter, I usually reread partially or fully every 5-10k words. My stories are long (I've got one with more than 500k words planned, *sigh), so I chapter them, and the largest chapter so far has a bit over 30k words.

But as I said, this process depends on the person. I generally plan far ahead and have no problem keeping things cohesive. I mostly reread to catch the mistakes, typos, clunky sentences, and to catch a rare omission or something.

I'd suggest trying a few approaches and seeing what works best for you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I reread the previous five-hundred words or so each time I start a new writing session. That way I clean up edits as I go along, get the beat of the prose right for the next section, and remind myself where I'm up to. With a rolling edit process like that, I only need to read through a chapter a couple of times when it's done, and usually, one big read from the beginning when the whole much longer thing is finished.

I'm lucky, my writing style is pretty much spontaneous, sequential, what you read is what I wrote. I catch most things as I go along.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I started writing a whole long thing about the specifics of the problem I'm facing right now, but realized it boils down to a pretty simple question:

When you're in the middle of writing something in the 50-75k word (or longer) range, what is your decision-making process on when it is productive to do a read of your entire current draft?

To be honest, that is why I break my stories down to manageable chunks. But I try to have 4 or 5 chapters complete before I think of submitting. I start at the beginning and edit/rewrite. Usually changes aren't that drastic but I do find myself adding a paragraph here and there. The trick/ downfall there is you know the story, so you might actually repeat something you want later in the story. Or you might want to move that idea forward. Then you have to go, find it and delete it to avoid repetition. Sometimes, that repetition is good. (If you are world building, it reinforces the idea.)

 

[filthytrancendence]

Seems like I'm getting confirmation on what I kinda suspected--writers who write longer format stuff don't tend to re-read much during the drafting phase.

Good to know. I think that's been one of my impediments to successfully completing a long project.

I think my problem is I need to lean on my outline more and just go ahead and make some of the decisions I've been procrastinating. So that is what I shall do.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I tend to reread the previous 3-5 chapters every time I start up, but I write in such short bursts that I tend to reread those same chapters nearly a dozen times by the time I move past them.

 

[Cali_Love]

When reading a story, it can be painfully obvious when you know that the author skipped the pain of multiple and exhausting proofreads.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Is this a single piece or chaptered work?

Depending how you structure the beginning bits, I’d periodically reread the first chapter/portion for table setting, foreshadowing, tone consistency throughout.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

My WIP has ballooned to the point where I'm forced to remember why I decided to stick to writing shorter stuff. But I like it, and I'm committed to finishing it.

I started writing a whole long thing about the specifics of the problem I'm facing right now, but realized it boils down to a pretty simple question:

When you're in the middle of writing something in the 50-75k word (or longer) range, what is your decision-making process on when it is productive to do a read of your entire current draft?

I think I tend to over-do this on shorter works, but that doesn't matter that much when it takes 30 minutes to read it. When re-reading the draft is a much more significant time commitment, it's not such an easy decision, as that represents quite a bit of potential writing time. What are your best practices on making this decision?

I tend to try to edit in 10k bursts for a long story. Makes it more manageable. I can usually do 10k in a few hours and it can often serve as a way to cleanse my palate and get me ready to keep going.

 

[filthytrancendence]

multiple and exhausting proofreads.

Yeah, that's not what I asked about. But thanks.

 

[ronde]

I tend to not read what I've already written unless I find that I've forgotten a name or that I've somehow changed the personality of one of my characters or have changed the plot. I think the advantage in doing it that way is when I get to the ending, I know how the story was supposed to progress. I've also forgotten most of what I wrote. It makes it easier to find inconsistencies as well as typos and punctuation problems.

If I have let a story sit for a while, I'll go back and read the last chapter so I can get back into the mood of the story.

 

[filthytrancendence]

Is this a single piece or chaptered work?

Depending how you structure the beginning bits, I’d periodically reread the first chapter/portion for table setting, foreshadowing, tone consistency throughout.

It's divided into chapters but I'm planning to publish as a single work.

It's split into 3 POVs on a rotating basis. I've re-read the previous chapter of the relevant POV before writing the next one as I've gone though drafting. I've also done a re-read when I was at about 10k. I'm pretty confident on the beginning, and I already did significant revisions to it. I'm keeping track of all the foreshadowing I've done in the outline with color-coding...

 

[Cali_Love]

Yeah, that's not what I asked about. But thanks.

OK, then more directly, it is a no decision and always productive to re read your entire piece, no matter the length.

 

[filthytrancendence]

OK, then more directly, it is a no decision and always productive to re read your entire piece, no matter the length.

Well, I can definitively say that's untrue.

I'm talking about drafting here, not editing. Seems like that detail might have gotten lost somewhere.

The more time I spend reading the draft, the less time I spend drafting the draft. That one's a zero-sum game, and one that privileges reading over drafting the longer the thing gets. It's very possible for that to become wholly unproductive. I've got a 60k word unfinished novel I've re-read to death to prove it.

 

[Cali_Love]

Well, I can definitively say that's untrue.

I'm talking about drafting here, not editing. Seems like that detail might have gotten lost somewhere.

The more time I spend reading the draft, the less time I spend drafting the draft. That one's a zero-sum game, and one that privileges reading over drafting the longer the thing gets. It's very possible for that to become wholly unproductive. I've got a 60k word unfinished novel I've re-read to death to prove it.

Sorry I said anything. You do you.

 

[filthytrancendence]

Sorry I said anything. You do you.

Look, I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm sorry if I came on too strong.

I've tried what you're suggesting, and it I know myself well enough to know that leads me to burning out and not finishing a project. That's all.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Seems like I'm getting confirmation on what I kinda suspected--writers who write longer format stuff don't tend to re-read much during the drafting phase.

Good to know. I think that's been one of my impediments to successfully completing a long project.

I think my problem is I need to lean on my outline more and just go ahead and make some of the decisions I've been procrastinating. So that is what I shall do.

Sounds like I'm the anomaly. I re-read from the beginning all the time to refresh my memory and to look for opportunities to improve what I've already done. But then, I have dozens of stories in my WIP folder that I bounce around between, so I'm prone to getting confused.

When my draft is complete, I put the story in a pending folder which I read through periodically. I publish about once a month, so I like to have stuff ready. i only publish when I've read the draft through three times without an update. Some stories have spent over a year in pending.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Well, I can definitively say that's untrue.

I'm talking about drafting here, not editing. Seems like that detail might have gotten lost somewhere.

The more time I spend reading the draft, the less time I spend drafting the draft. That one's a zero-sum game, and one that privileges reading over drafting the longer the thing gets. It's very possible for that to become wholly unproductive. I've got a 60k word unfinished novel I've re-read to death to prove it.

For some of us, drafting and editing cross paths very frequently(see previous post. It's right up there ^). I've been told that you shouldn't edit your draft, you should just write. Unfortunately, I'm so ADHD when I write, I have to re-read when I go back to a story or I get them confused and that's not a fun mess to clean up.

 

[filthytrancendence]

For some of us, drafting and editing cross paths very frequently(see previous post. It's right up there ^). I've been told that you shouldn't edit your draft, you should just write. Unfortunately, I'm so ADHD when I write, I have to re-read when I go back to a story or I get them confused and that's not a fun mess to clean up.

For sure. There does seem to be two schools of thought on this. For me, drafting and editing use very different parts of my brain, so I approach them as different phases. When I do a read through in the drafting phase, I'm looking pretty much only for structural and continuity problems. And when I edit, I have to do multiple passes for different kinds of things (grammar, awkward sentences, overused words) because I can kinda only see what I'm looking for. I guess I'm more on the hyper-focused side of that spectrum, lol.

 

[THBGato]

The only long story (81k words) I have that I wrote fully before posting was Forty. I had to be strict with myself. I would write in the mornings before work (40mins to an hour) and I deliberately wouldn't re-read anything. In the evenings, I would re-read what I'd written and the parts either side (I wasn't writing sequentially) make corrections and tweaks for style, finnesse transitions, etc.

If I didn't, I just got sucked into re-reading and wouldn't add much more. Having that fixed amount of time for writing in the morning meant I focused on that.

 

[Cagivagurl]

My WIP has ballooned to the point where I'm forced to remember why I decided to stick to writing shorter stuff. But I like it, and I'm committed to finishing it.

I started writing a whole long thing about the specifics of the problem I'm facing right now, but realized it boils down to a pretty simple question:

When you're in the middle of writing something in the 50-75k word (or longer) range, what is your decision-making process on when it is productive to do a read of your entire current draft?

I think I tend to over-do this on shorter works, but that doesn't matter that much when it takes 30 minutes to read it. When re-reading the draft is a much more significant time commitment, it's not such an easy decision, as that represents quite a bit of potential writing time. What are your best practices on making this decision?

For me I leave it until I'm in a bit of a hole... Like, if I'm writing and get stuck and I'm struggling to get going...
Most of my recent stories have been 80,000 words or more... Stand alone stories...
My method is not to re-read until i'm finished and editing...
Unless, I get stuck... Then I reread to get the thought process moving...
Sometimes works...
Every writer has to develop their own process...
Good luck with it

Cagivagurl

 

[stickygirl]

My WIP has ballooned to the point where I'm forced to remember why I decided to stick to writing shorter stuff. But I like it, and I'm committed to finishing it.
I started writing a whole long thing about the specifics of the problem I'm facing right now, but realized it boils down to a pretty simple question:

When you're in the middle of writing something in the 50-75k word (or longer) range, what is your decision-making process on when it is productive to do a read of your entire current draft?
I think I tend to over-do this on shorter works, but that doesn't matter that much when it takes 30 minutes to read it. When re-reading the draft is a much more significant time commitment, it's not such an easy decision, as that represents quite a bit of potential writing time. What are your best practices on making this decision?

I'm in the middle of a long story and facing new challenges as a result. Thanks for raising this one.
I re-read and edit recently entries as I go along. I've also had to change an initial 10k from 1st person to 3rd, which was less of a pain than I expected and turned into an interesting exercise.

 

[filthytrancendence]

I've also had to change an initial 10k from 1st person to 3rd, which was less of a pain than I expected and turned into an interesting exercise.

Yeesh. I've been there. Glad it turned out okay.

Yeah, the longest single work I've completed and published is 18k words, so I'm confronting some of the roadblocks that have stopped me from finishing novels in the past. It's interesting to hear different perspectives on how others approach longer works. I appreciate everyone sharing.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Sorry I said anything. You do you.

The thing is, you said it was a no decision and one always benefits from a complete re-read, but that's not always the case. The danger with absolute statements is very likely (as here) there will be someone who does it differently.

As an example, folk are talking about story outlines and such, and that's fine. For them. For me, I don't use them, don't need them, never have. My stream of consciousness approach will be as foreign to an outliner writer as their process is to me. Different brains, different approaches, that's all it is.

There's no one way of writing, and there's definitely no "right way." That's all @filthytrancendence was trying to say.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

It's divided into chapters but I'm planning to publish as a single work.

This what I write predominantly.

I re-read my drafts constantly. I get to a new section and have an inspiration, idea, or dialogue that comes to mind which I have to consider where it fits best in the story. Often times, this will be in a previous chapter or scene. I might have to rework the previous area to make it fit exactly, but I do what it takes.

This is where patience pays off. I read so many stories on here where later "Chapters" or "Series" introduce or mention something that would have benefited the story if provided earlier, but since they were already published, the author had no options.