When to re-read your draft on longer works?

[TheWritingGroup]

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.

My, how familiar that sounds (says the person who hasn't finished a story in months).

--Annie

 

[iwatchus]

I am just taking a break from my first long story (written about 90K of 110K expected). I make a first editing pass over each 10-20K as I kind of take a break. I will probably go make an editing pass in just a few.

I find making an editing pass during the draft helps reconnect me and kind of rekindles the fires. 10-20K is approaching the max I can write in one burst of draft.

 

[filthytrancendence]

To try and make a summary of what I've learned so far:

1. The majority of folks that tend to publish longer stuff who have responded so far (4, I think), re-read the preceding chapter or sometimes only part of it when they sit down to resume a draft. They don't generally do a full read of the draft until the draft is complete, unless there's some specific problem that prompts them to do so. These folks seem to either have a very clear vision in their head, or keep an outline that they stick to during the drafting process.
2. A couple (2, I think) re-read the whole thing every time they pick it up the draft to work on, and this seems to be accompanied by an 'edit as you go' kind of approach.
3. A few have also voiced a similar problem to me, where they tend to get caught in an endless loop of re-reading at a certain point and never finish the draft.
4. One advocates for re-reading as much as possible.

That's really helpful, thank you everyone for your openness. Of course more perspectives are welcome.

Of course I agree with several of you who have said everybody's got to find their own process. However, I personally find it helpful to hear what other people's processes are and how they seem to overcome some of the hurdles I find myself tripping over sometimes.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Once I've realised a story is going to have to be longer (over 20k words, say), then I produce an outline of the plot - what incidents happen, and what realisations/thoughts the characters have.

And then fill in the outline with whatever bit I feel like writing. I do go over various pieces of draft a lot, possibly more for my own enjoyment, but my first drafts are always terrible. They need lots of editing. I often leave out speech marks until I'm happy with a piece of dialogue. Only once I've got a reasonable draft of the whole thing do I read through and decide whether it needs some restructuring.

 

[Voboy]

Do your own thing and write it your own way, OP; there's no right or wrong answer.

I always find that no matter how long the layoff, I can usually slip straight back into a story no matter where it is. When I don't quite remember why I did something, I just ignore it and press on because I know I'll catch it when I re-read the piece for continuity at the end, just before I submit. That's the time I'll reconcile whatever disparities I was thinking about. If I miss one? I miss one. No big deal.

In other words, I don't re-read. I don't view my stories as "drafts," really. I just write. Most of what ends up getting submitted is just as it came from my keyboard.