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Monday, March 19, 2012

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#114) -- First Drafts

What are you trying to accomplish with the first draft of a story -- is it mainly about getting the story out as quickly as possible and then fixing it in the editing stages or do you try to get the technical aspects right from the start, figuring you can tweak the story in revision?

For me the first draft is about exactly that, getting the story down, but I tend to redraft as I write sometimes, especially as the character take over and spin out new directions. Then I have to go back to fix old "maps" in the story, even if it's not done. When I'm finished with a final draft, it's really more of a third draft before I ever hit "the end." What I end up fixing after that is proofreading and replacing weak words and sections with stronger ones, but the plot doesn't change much at all after that draft is done.

This question courtesy of Table Talk

2 comments:

  1. I'm the same way. I just try to get the story out, let it evolve a little, but so it's done as fast as possible. Then I take that and brainstorm. I'm far more creative and change much more on drafts 2 and 3....and they of course take me much longer.

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  2. Very cool, J.R. Great minds do think alike, huh?

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