I'm nearly at the end of the first draft of my first attempt at writing a novel (indeed, any creative writing). I took the widespread advice to just power through, just get the story down, write a shitty first draft, and expect to do most of the proper work in the subsequent editing stages.

Totally get that. So I started writing and didn't do any editing at all as I went through. Just didn't look back.

However, now that I'm probably a few days away from the end, it's sinking in just what a pile of shit I have probably written. I'm actually quite scared at the thought of reading it. I'm wondering what my best editing strategy is likely to be. The main things I'm going to have to deal with are these:

* I'm only going to end up with about 60k words and most novels in the genre (crime/mystery) seem to be about 400pp, which I reckon is about 100k words. I gather the bare minimum is 80k. Everything is underwritten but even when I've added the necessary detail I think I'm going to have to chuck in some more obstacles for my protags to overcome to get up to the right wordage.

* Everything is underwritten - each scene is going to need close attention to add in sufficient descriptive detail, change lots of changing "he/she said" to "she twirled her hair" or whatever to indicate who's speaking, get the tone right, add particularising detail etc. - close work rather than structural stuff.

* My two main protags haven't come alive. A minor character has, and I've just shot him dead.

* There's a whole romantic subplot that hasn't really got going because I've been concentrating on the main story.

* I haven't developed a "voice". My PoV is mostly close up to my main protag, who didn't come alive, so neither has his/my voice.

* The dialogue isn't funny where it should be and is where it shouldn't be.

So, a shedload of stuff there - just about everything that could be lacking in a novel is lacking in my first draft, apart from the plot (which I'm happy with). Fair enough, I'm learning on the job, but question is, what's my best strategy for editing?

I'm thinking:

(1) Add in those obstacles and romantic sub-plot to get the word-length up and the structure finalised.

(2) Frankenstein my protags up with a bit more voltage so they're recognisably people and my narrative voice is more consistent.

(3) Edit each scene one at a time in detail going through all the issues - description, dialogue labelling, particularising detail, etc.

Any views from the more experienced writers? I'm looking forward to the editing and am not daunted by the fact that I haven't written Ulysses on my first attempt. Just want to adopt the most efficient editing strategy without too much blundering and terror.

Well, Toast, I can offer what I've done on my WIP.

1. Outline the plot
2. Shitty first draft.
3. Mug up a bit on all the things I need to consider during revision at a macro level.
4. Brainstorm a few ideas for plot points, such as making things a bit more tense and complicated, etc.
5. Read first draft through and make snagging list of things I need to attend to.
6. Work in roughly all the things on said list
7. Rewrite. (The point I'm at now. Like you I underwrite so this is mainly a process of fleshing out the bones, adding description, deepening character motivation through what they say and think and so on.I have a really useful list of things I need to check at a scene level)
8. Final polish. (My favourite bit where I get to count how many angels can dance on the head of a pin ie. agonise for hours about the best place in the sentence to put the comma.)

but you know what the most encouraging thing is? That you recognise where the issues lie and you know what you need to do to make it better. I agree that knocking it into shape from here is the hardest part, but now you have something to work with.

I've said it before on here, I think, but I view the novel writing process like sculpting. You start off with an amorphous blob and hack into some kind of (very) rough shape - that's your first draft.

Second draft is when you really go to work and knock out the shape in more detail, so that you can see what it's supposed to be.

With each subsquent draft, you refine more and more until you're down to the last details and you have the finished article! I'm sure no sculptor starts with a piece of rock and produces a masterpiece immediately.
And if it's any comfort, I'm not far behind you in almost finishing a first draft that is going to need a LOT of work.

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Emma, that's a great list - I'm going to cut and paste it into my editing file if that's OK? ALl sorts of titbits in there!

Thanks, Emma - we seem to be doing the same "macro first, micro second" approach.

I'm conscious that people say you only get so many reads through your novel before you can't read it as a reader any more. I'm thinking maybe do the macro stuff I already know about (added bits of plot and character development, back-filling things for consistency so the heroine has a torch in her pocket when she needs it, fixing tone where I know it's wrong, etc.), doing a first read-through, note big things that need fixing, and then do the micro stuff. And then a second read-through.

The thought of the read-through is really scaring me because I know that what I've written at this point can only be shit. At least if I've fixed the macro stuff, it will be less shit than it is now.

Thanks, freebird - sculpting is a good analogy. Always good to hear from people in the same boat/grasping the same chisel!

No point polishing a turd, and all that, Toast.

Freebird - you're welcome. Am flattered you'd find it useful!

Toast, it sounds to me like you've got a plan - and your process is not unlike mine - macro to micro, although I also write notes about everything micro that occurs to me, even when I'm in macro mode. That way I don't worry I'll forget about them. For myself, I leave the printing-out and reading until I've done everything I can think of on screen. As you say, the law of diminishing returns tends to set in if you keep doing it. Although reading aloud can really help it to come up fresh again.

Free-writing can really help with character, which then helps the voice to become stronger if you let the close-up psychic distances colour the narrative voice strongly. Dream your way into one of your character's heads, and then splurge some stream-of-consciousness onto the page. Only rules: don't stop, don't cross out, don't correct. Stick it out through the ten-minute fidget barrier, and see what emerges on the far side. I'd put money on all sorts good stuff being there, which you didn't know about.

Another way to help develop your characters is to get away from the particular needs and demands and scenarios of the novel, and write a short story. Take one character, think up a situation which will really challenge them (put an elegant character in a trench, a gentle character in a violent pub) and see what happens...

Thanks, Emma - that sounds like excellent advice, particularly on the character development. I had really hoped that my protags would have come alive by this point but looking back, I think I've been scuppering myself by trying to reverse engineer the main protag - filling in his characteristics in terms of what he needs to do for the plot to work, without thoroughly creating him first and trusting him to respond appropriately.

I'll certainly try what you suggest - thanks again.

I prefer to work on the basis of trying to hit it right first time. For me, this is a more exciting way to work - a bit like a live performance. And I figure if I'm excited, there's a good chance the reader will be too. I know the shitty first draft approach works for a lot of writers but it really isn't the only way. Personally, I'd find it very hard to put freshness, spontaneity and surprise back into a load of crap. I get it about not polishing a turd, but for me the answer is to try not producing a turd in the first place.

Which doesn't mean not preparing, not working out what you're trying to achieve with a novel or short story. I do a lot of pre-thinking and sometimes a lot of notes (for a novel, not so much for a short story). But then I like to try to hit it first time with the actual writing. I'd be bored if I knew that the next 80,000 words I'm going to write will be shite. The principle of this is that if I tell myself this is it, the actual performance, then there's more chance my subconscious will step in and take advantage of my open state. Much less chance of that happening if it knows I don't give a toss.

Terry

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"Another way to help develop your characters is to get away from the particular needs and demands and scenarios of the novel, and write a short story. Take one character, think up a situation which will really challenge them (put an elegant character in a trench, a gentle character in a violent pub) and see what happens..."

Only just seen this, sorry. Totally agree. Great advice. I'm sure Emma, like me, sees a lot of new writers taking on a novel as their first major move into serious writing. The problem with that is it can cause a kind of freezing of confidence - because the project is just so big. Writing shorts is a great way of practicing the skills you need for novels.


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Sorry, you asked for advice. Again, this is just another view. But instead of going over this draft, and changing it in detail, what you could do is ditch it completely and write a new draft, this time aiming to hit the marks you missed with the first. The advantage of this approach is it means the mistakes of the first draft aren't there in front of your eyes all the time you're trying to be creative; instead, they're tucked away at the back of your mind, leaving your front mind to springboard off the underlying vision of your book.

Hi Terry - thanks for those interesting points. When I started the first draft, my intention was to do it as you suggest and I wrote the first scene, which was shit, then edited it five days running until I was delighted with it. Then I wrote the second scene, which was shit, and went through the same process. I did about five scenes like that, which took me over a month, and I decided that if I didn't get the story down a lot faster I would become disheartened because I was probably looking at several years' work before I had a first draft which would still need some editing (although presumably as I became more skilled I'd need less redrafting but that didn't seem to be happening).

I'm reading David Morrell's (author of Rambo) book on writing and he mentions several authors who've taken heroic measures as you suggest and have just ditched the shitty first draft and started all over again. I think if I had more skills than I started out with at this point that would be an attractive prospect but since I've just blammed through the story, I haven't developed them; in fact, I think I've forgotten the ones I had learnt when I was polishing the first few scenes. I hope I'm going to learn them when I apply them as edits to the whole first draft.

My hope is that I'll be able to write the next novel in the way you suggest. I read about one author who, each afternoon, writes new material for his latest novel and the next morning, edits that material and then continues with fresh material again in the afternoon. I like the idea of knowing that you're leaving a trail of sound work behind you.

Anyway, since this is my first attempt, I'll also be learning what works for me by way of editing and the nuclear option is certainly worth keeping in mind in things don't work out well with the existing pile of shit that is my first draft.

Hi Toast,

Sounds like you're working well towards whatever method suits you best. I think you know I wasn't suggesting you should try the seat of the pants method necessarily; just wanted to put it out there as an option. Sometimes, the shitty first draft method is put forward as the most legitimate method, which can be a shame for someone who's more naturally inclined to the grab it and go method.

I thought of a sporting analogy, even though I hate it when people compare writing to sports. When I was younger, I used to play golf. Didn't have any lessons, just played a lot with my friend. One day we saw a bit of golf on the TV (rare in those days) and noticed the players put back spin on the ball. So we were determined to find out how you did it. I can't remember how but we discovered that you have to hit the ball in a very different, almost counter-intuitive way, i.e. chop down on the back of it, then follow through, into the earth, up and out (which is why they produce divots) - all of which means the ball is spinning backwards as it flies, not forwards as it does from a normal hit. Now, there isn't any way to do a shitty first hit, if you want to put back spin on the ball. You just have to hit it right first time. That's how I feel about, say, trying to capture a conversation between two of my characters, that will have fizz to it, or intrigue, or humour. I'm sure that many-drafters have their ways to get that 'hit' in the final draft but for me, taking preliminary shitty swipes at the ball would just programme me into not being able to do it.

I'm not sure about the method of writing new material in the afternoon then editing it the next day. Clearly it works for that author but I think the danger could be that the editing censors or restricts the next creative burst.

Terry


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I guess there are a couple of caveats to the hit it first time approach. First, you have to put in a lot of time practicing before it will work, to develop the skills. Going back to golf, you wouldn't try to put back spin on the ball before you've learnt how to hold the club, swing it, where to place your feet, etc. Second, you still need to fix the draft. There will be logistical errors and bits that just don't work. But the principle is you're aiming to have the major bulk of it in place at the first attempt.

Hi Terry - I think that's a very good analogy with the golf and you're spot on with the key issue - skill! I don't think I have much yet and I've been conscious that when I come to edit, the one thing I can't edit in is freshness.

I suspect that although I don't think I'll be ditching the first draft and starting a second from scratch, I probably will do that for some scenes.

Hi Toast,
Great discussion point, - Emma's list is a real goodie - I've taken notes. I've written a shit children's novel which got nowhere with agents, but it was a good way to warm up. I like Terry's suggestion of writing shorter stories, and I kept meaning to do that, but ended up writing an adult novel instead. I was quite pleased with it until I took it to the Festival of Writing last year and had a face to face with an agent and publisher there, who didn't hold back in recalibrating me. After licking my wounds, I had a look at how I was approaching it in general, and found my expectations were way off. When I changed what I expected to achieve every time I sat down to write - that is how I wanted to feel at the end of a scene or a chapter, it changed the way I worked. I rewrote a 100,000 word novel that had taken 3 years to write, in 10 weeks, and now have an agent. (See article on this for details http://www.freeyourib.com/?page_id=185)
Worth asking yourself what you're expecting - your language suggests you're not expecting much! It might be worth starting there before you do anything else.


You've done all this work - don't bin it. Just have a look at what you want from it and work on Emma's list, step by step. Even if it is a shitty first draft, it is possible to rewrite it in a way that does your story justice. Good luck, Toast.

Hi Lib - that's a very interesting story! Congratulations on such a successful outcome and on finding such a rewarding way of working.

I'm wondering, though, if your approach also includes skill as a prerequisite. It sounds as though you'd already honed your essential writing skills in your first, polished submission and had them to draw upon in your spectacular 10-week, flowing rewrite.

It's interesting, as this thread develops, that to me it seems that there are maybe different strategies that are available to authors at different stages in their learning.

I suppose I won't know what works for me until I've tried it and next time, it might need a different method because I'll be a different writer. It's good to know what methods are in the arsenal!

I suppose I won't know what works for me until I've tried it and next time, it might need a different method because I'll be a different writer. It's good to know what methods are in the arsenal!

Yes: although we all do have to work out our own process, different projects do need different processes, too. I think it's always worth being alert to the possibility of doing it a different way this time. And sometimes you have to - if you always do research first, say, but life means that you can't, this time. It's as well to hang on to the fact that Other Processes Are Available...