I had an epiphany late last week about my current work in progress. Unfortunately, it means that much of what I've currently written (about 16,000 words) needs to be scrapped. Some people believe you should complete a rough draft before revising it. Personally, I'd rather go back and fix the foundation before soldiering on. IMO, that will make revising this draft easier. I did create a new file to work in so I can go back to the original version if necessary.
In other news, I'm almost done with the welcome blanket I blogged about a few weeks ago. All the crocheting is done; now it's a matter of stitching the squares together. The Welcome Blanket Project needs the blanket by next Tuesday, so I plan to finish it either tonight or tomorrow. I'll take a picture of the finished blanket before I ship it off.
What's your opinion on revising rough drafts? Do you plow straight through, revise along the way, or take a different approach? I don't think the approach matters too much as long as it works for you, but it's interesting to see how other writers handle it.
6 comments:
I don't like to do anything to distract me from moving forward.
Seems like that method works for you, Pat!
I'm with you. I need to have that firm foundation. I just can't write about what happens next if I don't feel confident about happened before. Maybe it takes longer to finish when you work that way, but that's better than racing forward and ending up with a manuscript that just doesn't work.
Why keep writing if you're going to delete most of it anyway? I've always revised as I wrote.
James, if the manuscript doesn't work, you have to rewrite it anyway.
Diane, I usually revise the previous day's work before I start the day's writing, but this is probably one of the most extensive revisions I've done on an unfinished rough draft.
I rewrote my finished manuscript, True Believers after I spent three weeks at a writers' workshop. It opened my eyes and I realized the manuscript was on the wrong path.
I scrapped everything but the original characters and one chapter.
I'm not the sentimental type though. I don't stay married to ideas if I think something else works better.
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