On first drafts

I got a few questions about my process before and during first drafts, so I thought I would address them all together.

We’ll start with Jessie Sin, who asks:  What is your prep process before you begin a novel? (Scene-by-scene plotting, character backstories, ensuring you have a month’s supply of popcorn, etc.) If there have been more than one process, did one seem more efficient for you? And if so which one?

Well, the month’s supply of popcorn is a given. But our house is always well stocked with it, and the Whirley Pop stays on the stove at all times, so that is not something I have to plan for much.

I have done prep a little bit different each time I have written a book. I have done the full snowflake method, which involves pretty intense character biographies, multiple synopses, and detailed scene-by-scene spreadsheets; I have gone into the first draft with only the basic information in my head and just flown by the seat of my pants (they call this kind of writer a pantser, but that makes me think of middle school where kids think pulling down their friends’ pants in gym class is high comedy); and I have done something in between the two extremes.

What I have found works best for me is the middle-ground preparation. I make sure I know my characters well, and I make sure I know what happens at the beginning, middle, and end of the book. I plot out the basics, giving myself a plot summary that is several pages long. Then, I listen to my characters and what story and need to tell, and I get to work.

Just sitting down and writing without any idea where the story is going is thrilling and I love doing it, but it is not the most efficient way for me to write a book. Sometimes, when I have a character who is begging to be written, but I don’t yet know his story, I will sit and free write. Then, when the story starts to formulate, I will step back and plan in out before continuing. I save a lot of overwriting that needs to be cut out during revisions this way.

European Swallow asks: What habits help you the most to trudge through a first draft?

I put my butt in my seat. Every. Single. Day. (Except, of course, Sundays, when I do not work.) I treat my writing like a job and make sure I work at it every day. Some days I great and I reach my word-count goal quickly and just keep plowing through. Other days are much harder; there are days where putting words on paper is like building a bridge with banana pudding, but I still make myself sit and try. I am in my book every day, putting words down no matter how difficult it is.

The other thing that helps me get through first drafts is a bit of advice from the talented Ally Carter: Don’t get it right, get it written. I am a perfectionist by nature, so it is hard for me to write things that are not great. It took me a long time to be able to just let go and get the story told. But I have learned one thing: First drafts are messy. The prose is sloppy and the dialogue is often forced. That is okay. The point of a first draft is not perfection; the point of the first draft is to tell the story. Which brings us to our next question.

How many monkeys. .  . asks: Do you frequently rewrite during the first draft, or save it for round 2?

Once upon a time, I started writing a book. I got five chapters in and then had an epiphany on how to make it better. I went back and rewrote those five chapters and added a prologue. The story was essentially the same, but the writing was better. I wrote one more chapter. Then I had another epiphany on how to make it better. I went back, scrapped the prologue (which really was unnecessary), wrote a new chapter one, and then rewrote the other six chapters (making the old chapter one the new chapter two). The story was the same, though richer, and the writing was even better.

You know what happened to that book? It is still sitting on my hard drive, seven chapters long, waiting to be finished someday.

The next book I started, I promised myself to just get the first draft written. I refused to let myself rewrite or edit during the process (which was incredibly difficult-see above where I call myself a perfectionist). I finished the first draft of that novel in a month. The next one I wrote was finished in about a month and a half; I didn’t let myself edit during the first draft of that one either.

It is easy to get stuck in a cycle of editing and rewriting. There is always some idea popping into my head about how to make a book better when I am writing it. If I were to take the time during the first draft to explore every one of these ideas, I would end up with a few really great chapters, but no book. Since I have learned this, I do things a little differently.

When I write a book, I push myself to get through draft one without editing. Every time I have an epiphany about the book, I make a note of it. Once I am done with the book, I go back and read all my notes. More often than not, a note I made early on is negated by one I made later. I decide which one is more true to my story and cross off the other note. Had I been editing every time I had a great idea, I would be doing a lot more work that would never see the light of day.

So, long answer short: I do not rewrite during the first draft. I save that for round two.

Alright. That is it for first draft questions. Come back tomorrow for some more answers!