I thought it might be interesting to talk about how I approach drafts in my novels.
Actually, I’m sure it’s not, but I have to schedule some blog posts and this totally counts as my socializing for the day.
Like with most writers, I think, my first draft is very slow. I used to write without outlines, which I’ve found is very freeing and perhaps the most fun way to write ever, but ever since I started getting into epic fantasy more, I realized that I needed outlines to tame the damn things. The lack of outlining was why Jaeth’s Eye went through so many “first” drafts, and it was the presence of an outline that eventually made me get it to sit down and try to tell the story I wanted it to tell.
Anyway. That was five years ago, and my process have gotten a lot better since then. Nowadays, I write a first draft that uses organic, overlapping outlines and themes to guide me along. By organic, overlapping outlines, I mean outlines that change depending on if the manuscript decides to diverge from the original outline (so I essentially re-outline from that point on). It is a slow and excruciating task, but I think it helps give me a good idea of what the novel is supposed to be about by the end of it.
Afterwards, I take a break, and then proceed with the second draft. I take the first draft and approach it with a new, critical eye. I want to refine the themes and make sure that every sentence, even every word, leads to the inevitable conclusion. I tighten interactions, remove unnecessary scenes, and move things around to streamline the narrative. I also check for consistency of dialogue and information at this point. This is also a lengthy process, and I end up writing a lot of new scenes or deleting old ones. IF I run into any trouble during this process, I may end up doing another run-through, and another, and another…basically until I’m happy with the story’s “stream of consciousness”, with every scene as it should be.
My subsequent drafts are done from a purely technical editing standpoint. I run things through a grammar software and edit the narrative to make it tighter, change words, make sentences more efficient, etc. I check for flow. I check to make sure I’m following grammatical rules. I check for word usage and style consistency. In other words, during this process, I’m wearing my editing hat, and scrutinizing my manuscript like a mother-in-law.
Only then do I throw the thing at my beta-readers and editors. Then I twiddle my thumbs, and wait for their responses. And then I go through another structural edit (if anyone raised any questions on this regard) and then another technical edit (based on my readers’ notes). And then I do a typo check. And then I pray to the Gods and sacrifice a couple of lambs.
And then shit like “roast peasant” (Jaeth’s Eye‘s famous typo) comes up, anyway.
It’s hell, it really is.
Jaeth’s Eye is out. Add it (and the sequels!) to your TBR!
