I know the meaning of the expression "first draft", but well, my so-called first draft is going to be gigantic... This made me wonder when I should revise things, if after chapters or after I'm done with the whole thing. In general, my first drafts are good in terms of quality of writing, but they need fine tuning when it comes to plot points, character reactions and so on. Not much to add to the question... Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
There are as many opinions on this as there are authors. Some will wait and revise after the entire story is completed. Others, like myself, revise as we write, so when the story is done all that's left is polishing. Still others do some revising along the way and leave the majority of it until the ms is completed.
I think there's really no one right way as long as you get it done. Whatever works for you. I tend to wait mostly until I am done but sometimes if you see something as you go along that needs fixes, fix it.
No answer is wrong. Just don't let yourself get caught in the trap of constant revisions and never finish your story. I start my writing day by going over what I wrote the day before, fixing any obvious errors, fine tuning words, flow, punctuation, etc. It refreshes me on where I was, then I'm primed and ready to continue. I don't do any major rewrites until I'm finished. I do make a page of notes on plot points and things I will have to go back and fine tune, so I don't forget.
Agree with the above. There's no "right" way to do it. Very much subjective, imo. BTW, nice screen name and avatar. AIC rules!
Given that you're revising character and plot points, I would wait until you have the whole story down, so that you *know* what the plot is going to be. That said, there are no hard and fast rules, so if it feels right to revise as you go along... well, do that!
Thanks mate, AIC the best thing that came from Seattle back in the day. I think I'll just put it all down and edit later. Might take a while, but it'll be easier with the whole thing done.
I give it a complete first draft before I do a formal revision, but I hand-write the stuff first and enter it into the word-cruncher every few thousand words, and that first entry into Word is when the first edit happens. so the answer is, for me, "a little of both."
I kind of mix how I revise. Every time I write, I'll go back and read the chapter before it, to the point I wrote to, to fix common errors that I noticed. Otherwise then that, I'll wait until I finish the story as a whole, put it away for a month to six months, then print it out, or pick up the papers I wrote it on, take a red pencil/highlighter, and have at the corrections. Of course by the time I'm done doing that the papers are a complete mess from all the corrections, notes, removals, and stuff I make. I find though, that this method works best for me, and that's something to consider. Finding a method that works best for you as an author. I do agree with Elvee though, don't get so caught up in revision that you never finish the story.
