I guess this question stems from being nosey about other people's writing. I am nearly at the end of the first draft of my first novel - or at least I think I am. It's hard to tell. It's certainly not a neat pile of printed pages or a set of computer files. It's probably more like a patchwork quilt that's yet to be stitched together and may well require trimming here and a lot of extra material there.

There's big holes in places, the end is barely sketched in, decisions still need to be made about some characters. So is this a first draft?

I know that ultimately, the question's a bit redundant. But I'm curious to know whether the kind of writer - and person - you are has a bearing on when you consider something is ready for the editing stage.

What an interesting question.
I too am almost at the end of my first draft. I consider it a first draft because I have completed this stage of it. Seems to me that there are every kind of first drafts, from those that will just need a few words tweaked to those which will be substantially rewritten/added to. And for some writers, the first draft will be one of fifteen, while for others, it's the first of just two.
I guess 'draft' is a purely subjective term! And maybe it constitutes a phase or stage in the writing, a point to be reached; after which one reads the whole thing and begins to work on it again...
Susiex

Sibelius, you're right that this must vary enormously between writers, because it must be tied in with the way you put your material together. For example, this 'patchwork' thing isn't something I recognise, because I tend to write in a directly linear way. So for me the answer to your question is easy: the first drfat is done when I get to the last capter, write the ending and put a uill stop.

On the other hand, whatever stage I've got to with the actual writing of the draft, the remaining section of the book does consist of fragments such as you describe: except not really written up at all in my case, more just scribbled notes in a file, of scenes which need to go in, snatches of dialogue, key phrases. But that's more like hanks of yarn in the knitting bag, and the process of knitting the stuff up is very much what I think of as actualy 'writing'. It's when I've finished knitting up all the yarn that the draft is done. For you, maybe the draft is done when you've got a bag full of knitted squares, not yet (or only parially) joined together.

Rosy

I write in a patchwork way, too, Sibelius, so I would consider my first draft to be the one where I had pieced together all the 'scenes' into some sort of 'best fit' chronological order to see where the gaps were, and then fill in the gaps. Only then would I consider it a first draft and ready for the next stages where bits get rewritten, extra threads added, characters amalgamated etc. The final draft would be the proof-reading stage.

- NaomiM

My version most closely resembles Naomi's, even though I haven't completed my first novel yet - but for the part that I have completed, and what I am going to count as my first draft.

Another interesting question is what people consider to be the first draft of a shorter piece or section of a novel, which is another thing again. Is it really the words as you first scribbled them, or the words once you edited them into something you consider reasonably organised but not polished, or what? It seems to mean different things to every writer and also seems to depend so much on context.

Of course, some people seem to sit down and write and write and write and not edit till they've finished their first draft of a novel. But lots of people do some editing and tweaking and rearranging along the way, which means that the first draft of a novel might be made up of lots of bits of writing which have all been rewritten quite a few times!

Deb

I tend to write chapter by chapter and get each chapter as far as I can before I move on - but often I know I have merely got as far as I can - for now - and will have to come back.

I tend to end up with multiple drafts of everything.

I wrote the last chapter for my first book several chapters before the end - though it had been linear up til then - other than that I have a nano mishmash which I am - after a year - just about ready to go back to and ruthlessly cut to see which bits - if any - are still breathing.

Even then I had to do some editing along the way as I can't type as fast as I think - and I had to check for legibility so I could remember what I thought the text was meant to say.

And I think there are probably a couple of shopping lists and telephone numbers in there which need to come out

Sarah

Like Rosy, I write in a linear way. I kind of feel I need to have something which feels 'right at the time' in as complete a version as possible before I can move on to the next bit. So my routine is to sit down and read back over what I've written, make any changes, then carry on. I may re-read and tweak the same piece up to ten or more times before I eventually feel it's ready to print out. I keep doing this until I get to the end of the novel and have a printed hard copy. Then I will read the whole thing and see what occurs to me, before revising and editing in second draft. After that - who knows?!?
Susiex

I guess everyone has their own way of working and part of getting better as a novelist is presumably getting to know more about what works best for you.

I suppose it doesn't matter too much what label I put on what I've got. It's a bit like a basketful of creased washing waiting to be ironed and neatly folded, socks paired etc. I reckon I've left some of it in the washing machine though!

Anyway, for me I think what I have now will be turned into what I might call the main draft, which might marinate for a while in a bottom draw before the final edits.

(Sorry, I seem to be mixing my metaphors there!)

I have now will be turned into what I might call the main draft, which might marinate for a while in a bottom draw

Sibelius, what a lovely image...afterwards, when it's done marinating, you could wrap it in your underpants and call it a Knickerbocker Story.
(Sorry, I'm feeling silly today)

I rewrite as I go, so you could argue that I never have a first draft, because by the time the script is complete, it has already been heavily edited, but once it is complete, I can slap the whole script on a table and think, 'There, that's it. My book is finished. Now for the hard part.'

and go back to page one

Susie,

How did you know I wear knickerbockers?