Tuesday, April 30, 2013

First Drafts

I always find it really interesting to hear how long it takes various writers to pen their first draft. I've heard many writers have written their first draft in only a month, or six weeks. Then again I've heard others who have taken one year, or even ten! As much as I'd love to write my first draft in a month, that just wouldn't happen! On average I usually only get an hour or two each day to write, if that and I just don't have the ability to power through and pump out three chapters in that time frame!

So I'm wondering, how long does it take you, on average, to write your first draft? Which way to you write? Do you just let all your words flow out and fix it later or do you continue refining and really think about the content that's going into each chapter.


10 comments:

  1. My current WIP took about four and a half months to write the first draft. That was crazy fast for me, considering in the past I sometimes spent years trying to get a story down on paper (or on the screen) and usually lost motivation and interest. I don't write as quickly as some people, because I tend to mull and tweak as I go. That's just what works for me.

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    1. You're still doing better than me! I started writing in March and there is no way I'm going to have the first draft done in 4 1/2 months. I'd love that, if only I had more time. I tend to just write and write and then I realise how bad it is and go back and completely rewrite the last three chapters. I still haven't made it past chapter six... :/

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  2. I used to revise as I wrote, tweaking this and that along the way. Used to! NaNoWriMo changed the way I write. Before I start writing, I compose a rough outline with character names and then sit down, allowing the words flow, even if they don't make any sense. Once the rough draft is finished, I can section it up and add pivotal scenes I forgot to add and remove boring ones. It also gives me a better sense of my characters and where they will end up at THE END. If you've always written the same way with every story (like I did), try something different; it may work. It did for me.

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    1. Wow! That's a really interesting thought. I'm not one to revise as I write and definitely just let the words flow but I take my chapter ends as markers and then will do a little revising. I like to just let the words flow but I find it really hard to move on if I know that the story isn't progressing or that something major is going to change down the line. Great advice though, I might try and change it up a bit - thanks!

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  3. If I shut out distractions, and just get on with it, I can write a first draft in a month or two. If I let myself get distracted, or obsess too much over editing as I go, it can take a lot longer. I was fiddling with the first few chapters of my current WIP for over a year. In the end I decided I'd had enough with messing around, and started over with it for NaNoWriMo. I wrote the entire first draft in a month. It still needs a lot of work, but I'm a lot further than I was before November!

    Pantsing worked for me for NaNo, and I think I'm going to lean more toward pantsing in the future. But I try not to get too hung up on how I'm going about writing. I think the best writing method is the one that enables you to keep writing. If you're methodology is getting in the way of writing your story, then change your methodology. That's my thought, anyway! :)

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    1. I need to do a better job at shutting out distractions! haha! Amazing you managed to write your entire first draft in a month after fiddling around with it for a year! How's it going now?
      I think you're right, I just need to keep getting the words down and pump it out then deal with everything else later!

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  4. I haven't been able to pin down an average, but that's because I've only finished two first drafts. My first one I did in a month and haven't touched since. My second one took two or three years because I was so caught up with college - I actually busted out the entire second half of it in about six weeks. I've restarted my current WIP a couple times, so I'll let you know how long it took when I finish it :)

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    1. I'm in awe of people that can finish a draft in a month! amazing! I know the 'caught up' feeling. I've got so much filling my days at the moment I really have to push myself to find time to write, and it only happens at night unfortunately. It'd be great to have the days to work away and get a draft done! Good luck with your current WIP!

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  5. On average, I'd say about a year. But that's not even really accurate because I sometimes end up taking large breaks in there. Also, my first draft is also kind of revised too, so it's not a true first draft. I have a tendency to revise a bit as I go, so it ends up taking a bit longer than I'd like to pound out that crappy first draft. :-)

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    1. I think we have a similar writing style. It takes me a while to write and while I don't entirely revise as I go, I can't have totally crappy chapters, they all need to be something i'm 90% happy with before I move on :-)

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