![whats a rough draft whats a rough draft](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d2ad084c902c33e4a301313216e72695/tumblr_ne85ooaDz01rg3p6lo1_640.png)
From there, I alternate between further polishing drafts and smaller-level editorial drafts as long as needs be. In-between, I’ll often do line-edit drafts, like the language draft above, where I’m focused on getting rid of the passive voice and adding more concrete details.įourth draft is my first editorial draft, working with the editor to fix problems.įifth is a second editorial draft (Line edits rather than plot and structure edits). I’ll do this process several times, usually. I actively look for places to change, kind of like a sculptor looking over the statue and seeking places to knock off jagged chunks and smooth out the sculpture’s features. Once this is all done, and I’ve gotten feedback and had time to think, I read through the book again with my revision notes file open beside the book file itself. Fixing one specific scene so that it has proper foreshadowing will be near the bottom. For instance, a need to rewrite a character’s motivations will be at the top. I organize these by character and by importance and/or pervasiveness. I begin collecting things I want to change in the book in a separate file, called “Revision notes for ***”. I let readers read the book, and I take some time off from it. In a perfect world, this is where I send the piece through writing group and/or send it to my editor. Step 3: Turn your headings and subheadings into complete sentences. Step 1: Figure out your main points and create the headings for your outline. This will make the prose more vibrant, and will make the pacing work better. Follow the steps below to turn your outline into the first draft of your essay.
![whats a rough draft whats a rough draft](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/35/dd/d9/35ddd94242006b52fa9bc24d3cb7b677.jpg)
I write with a lot of extra words, knowing I’ll need a trim. Here I’m seeking to cut the book down by 10%. In the second draft, I settle on how I want things to really look, feel, and work. Similarly, often I’ll drop in new characters out of the blue, pretending that they’ve been there all along.
![whats a rough draft whats a rough draft](https://image1.slideserve.com/1647307/so-what-s-a-rough-draft-l.jpg)
I don’t go back then and revise, as I need to try out this personality for a while before I decide to actually use it. Often, I’ll change character personalities halfway through the first draft as I search to figure out how I want the character to sound. Read through the entire book, fixing the major problems. Readers who see the book in this stage can tell what the basic arcs and characters will be, but the emotional impact is lessened by the crude edges and unfinished lines. In essence, I cut out the crude features of the sculpture–but when it’s done, there is still a lot of work to be done. The first draft is generally focused on getting things in place so I can work on them. I view working on a book in the same way a sculptor might view working on a block of wood.