Friday, April 26, 2019

The power of a first (single) draft / Happenings In The Outhouse 26-Apr-2019

I realized something the other day.  I write the majority of my blog posts in a single sitting.  Meaning, after one draft.

Even several of the stories I've published lately have only seen one draft.

Let me explain the process, which is stupidly simple.  I do what is called cycling (here's a blog post I did a while back that explains it).  I actually do a modified version of this.  Depending on the size of the project, I will go back and do a casual read, as if I was a reader and not a writer, correcting any errors that I may come across.  For short stories, novelettes, and novellas, I will typically read it through from beginning to end, mostly in a single sitting, making a few corrections here and there.

For my current project, which I know is in four parts, I will read each part in its entirety once I get to the end of it.  After that, I won't read it again until the book is done.  Then, I will do one more casual read, just in case something happens at the end that may affect something in the beginning.  But I do not do the heavy editing like I did before I started publishing.  I shake my head at how many years I wasted doing this--and I still come across several writers who feel the need to edit heavy-handedly over and over and over and over again.

This is essential Heinlein's five rules of writing.  Don't trust yourself?  Do it once and then test the waters.

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