Just finished my first draft, and tips for what to do next?

[cgsmith]

It might be a silly question, and I have a plan already. I just wondered if there were any surprises that any of you guys encountered when you went through it?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

It might be a silly question, and I have a plan already. I just wondered if there were any surprises that any of you guys encountered when you went through it?

Yes - that there would be 17 more drafts to come

 

[cgsmith]

Yes - that there would be 17 more drafts to come

I knew it, I just didn't want to admit it.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Congratulations. You must feel great!

I don't know if this works universally but I find that once I've finished a story, I just leave it alone for three months before I go back to it. With that distance I can see so many things that I'd not noticed.

But I am weird like that and in no rush to publish so waiting is not a problem for me. Also it gives you time to unwind or explore those new ideas you've been having.

pH

 

[cgsmith]

Also it gives you time to unwind or explore those new ideas you've been having.

pH

How did you know? I do want to work on something else for a while, I am also quite tempted to start on it now. But it's 1:15 in the morning.

I did take a break that was a few months about a quarter of the way through and gave it a read to get back into it. The great thing was it was almost like reading someone else's book because I had forgotten things and stuff, and nothing was fresh in my head. Sadly though, I had stopped writing in the middle of a good bit so instead of being like "ooh, what happens next," and turning the page, I had to write 90.000 words. So the experience wasn't exactly like reading someone else's book.

And yeah, it does feel great.

 

[zmunkz]

Congrats! That is a major milestone and accomplishment! Major props, my friend.

I agree with @Phyrebrat ... put it aside, do something totally new (maybe outline a new story) then go back to it fresh I'm a couple months.

In my own limited experience I found I sort of knew what the weaknesses of my first drafts were, it just took distance to fully admit it and see how to fix them.

 

[VinceK]

Congratulations @cgsmith for not giving up.
The comment I would add is to suggest your plan prioritises beta readers, make sure the story's sound before embarking on any detailed grammar corrections.

 

[Montero]

Congratulations @cgsmith for not giving up.
The comment I would add is to suggest your plan prioritises beta readers, make sure the story's sound before embarking on any detailed grammar corrections.

I would actually advise the opposite . Make sure you've done a full spell check and read it through, including reading it aloud to see how it flows, before you ask a beta reader to read the whole manuscript. Speaking as someone who does beta reading, I would be annoyed to be presented with a manuscript with basic errors in it, that interrupt the flow of reading it. If you have any beta readers, you are lucky - treat them well.
You could try polishing just the first three chapters and try them on a beta reader before you polish the full book, to see if the style is working.
(In case you are unfamiliar with all the concepts - beta readers tend to be people who read through the book for you and give you broad feedback. I write notes as I go - e.g. "found I lost interest round about page 20, I noticed I was struggling at page 22 and went back to see where it had started, which was page 20" "I think the story runs at a good pace, but I'm really sorry - I don't like the main character because ......" I always try to give information where I separate out personal taste - not ever possible to be totally dispassionate, but I do try to flag it.)

 

[VinceK]

If you have any beta readers, you are lucky - treat them well.

I agree wholeheartedly, beta readers offer invaluable feedback and should be cherished. What I meant, but obviously didn't say , by detailed grammar corrections, is paying £500 to have your manuscript proofed by an editor, as I did, and then having it read by a beta reader whose feedback resulted in a substantial rewrite and a return trip to the editor. I most definitely was not suggesting that a first draft be sent to a beta reader, it should be as polished as you can possibly make it.

 

[CWScott]

I get to editing right away while it's fresh. Well, maybe its not editing. I go back through and check for consistencies, add detail, descriptions etc. Fix any major plot holes. So maybe its just the next draft.

Then I go through and check show don't tell stuff. Search for any words ending in ly. There are a whole slew of words I check for such as filter words. If I'm doing single POV, I try to get rid of words like saw, heard, felt etc. They are unnecessary and tend to be telling. Freeloader words such as very, quite, maybe etc.

Then I'll check for overused words. This is different for everyone.

I suck at tense and detecting passive voice flags. I leave that to my editor. I can spend months trying to fix myself (and I have), but I end up making it worse, and I would rather be writing.

I do all this as soon as the first draft is finished. Everyone is different. There are some that go with their first draft, and polish it up. I spent three years rewriting my first book, and another year polishing it. My next book took maybe 6 months for everything. Now, I'm reducing that more. I've found that I'll never be 100% happy with anything, and need to let go.

I don't use beta readers, but do listen to feedback from fans. I also spend a lot of time reading reviews of similar books.

 

[The Big Peat]

Congratulations.

I'm one of those people who likes to forget all about it for a while before returning to edit.

The thing that surprised me most was how many giant holes there were in it where I'd forgotten to connect the dots.

 

[Vaz]

Congratulations on getting through the first draft!

Now, step away from the manuscript.

Allow to simmer in your brain juice until the plot gets sticky 'round the edges.

Then, return it to the boil until all those lil lumps are smooth and delicious.

Repeat the process until your story sauce is at the required consistency.

 

[zmunkz]

Here is Brandon Sanderson's revision process (starting at 9:22):

 

[BDFiala]

I finished my first draft last summer and then left it alone for a few months. When I picked it up again, I was shocked at how many things I found bad /wrong / horrible so I started rewriting it and I'm in that process now. Only 25% of it done and still a long way to go. If I ever make it to the end alive, I intend to cough up the money to have it edited by someone who knows what they're doing... I hope you don't end up rewriting the whole thing like I am! Good luck!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I finished my first draft last summer and then left it alone for a few months. When I picked it up again, I was shocked at how many things I found bad /wrong / horrible so I started rewriting it and I'm in that process now. Only 25% of it done and still a long way to go. If I ever make it to the end alive, I intend to cough up the money to have it edited by someone who knows what they're doing... I hope you don't end up rewriting the whole thing like I am! Good luck!

I don't think there is anyone in the world who doesn't end up rewriting their first ever draft of their first ever book (or in my case, the first draft of any book.) I have a good writer friend, who is just - finally and judiciously - exploding (Peadar O'Guillin, for those who know him). Anyhow, on his facebook yesterday (so I'm not telling tales, nothing is secret) he admitted his editor just returned the edit from hell to him with a complete rewrite needed. On my last book (which is my 4th published) my editor got me to rewrite an entire character's arc as it wasn't good enough.

So, um, my advice, being rather less tongue in cheek (although i was honest in my 1st post). Learn to embrace the rewrite, if you can. Enjoy the honing and the story emerging and seeing it become stronger. Take time. Find beta readers - hone your grammar as @Montero says, you want them commenting on the best you can do and, also, picking up on genuine errors so they can help you - and work with them. If you can afford it, get an editor. And expect it to take another year, maybe, at least.

Oh, and write something else in a different world from time to time - even if it is only something short. We learn more the wider we make our writing experience. This is a slow game.

 

[BDFiala]

I don't think there is anyone in the world who doesn't end up rewriting their first ever draft of their first ever book (or in my case, the first draft of any book.) I have a good writer friend, who is just - finally and judiciously - exploding (Peadar O'Guillin, for those who know him). Anyhow, on his facebook yesterday (so I'm not telling tales, nothing is secret) he admitted his editor just returned the edit from hell to him with a complete rewrite needed. On my last book (which is my 4th published) my editor got me to rewrite an entire character's arc as it wasn't good enough.

So, um, my advice, being rather less tongue in cheek (although i was honest in my 1st post). Learn to embrace the rewrite, if you can...

Thanks for that advice. I do understand that it needs to be done ta certain way, rewritten until it feels good and that it takes time to do it right. It's just that sometimes it feels like rewriting is never gonna come to an end. I do hope it will though, because having the book written is just a start... Also, I hope that cgsmith is closer to the end than I am!

 

[VinceK]

Here is Brandon Sanderson's revision process (starting at 9:22):

Very insightful. Interesting comment about the writing/editing 60/40 split, I'll remember that.

 

[VinceK]

It's just that sometimes it feels like rewriting is never gonna come to an end.

I'm sure every new writer has the same thought, I did. I've only written one book, it took me three years and I ended up with 28 edits and two editions. I probably made every mistake a new writer could and one of the biggest was rushing to print. I've bought a bookshelf of writing books, but I'm sure the most useful learning experience I had was writing that first book.

 

[DZara]

I just wondered if there were any surprises that any of you guys encountered when you went through it?

It always surprises me both how many good chunks are in there, and then how simultaneously bad it can be overall, when I left off loving the thing. It's almost as if the words rearrange themselves into crap when I'm not looking...

Another tendency I have is to leave big holes in the story, and that takes more adding for around the first three drafts. Usually by then, there's nothing left to add. Then I rearrange the structure so that it's closer to a structure that won't fall down on itself (another 3-4 drafts) and THEN I check spelling and grammar and passive voice and all that micro stuff (another 3-4 drafts or until I start chasing my own tail).

And then it's ready for readers...and editors...or whatever. Other eyeballs other than mine.

 

[The Big Peat]

One thing I'll do for my next big edit is create scene summaries on what strands I need to carry forwards into the next scene. Continuity of narrative is the devil itself for trying to do just from memory.