The Differences Between Drafting & Revising

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DRAFTING AND REVISING

As you'll know by now if you've been following me for a while, I paused drafting while I worked on revisions for a time. I got to the point of turning 40 and having 40 first drafts, and worked out if I kept going at that pace, I would have 80 first drafts by the time I turned 50 and with the speed of publishing, I would have ages between when a book was first written, to when it was time for it to be published. So I ended the current series I was working on, bringing me to 48 finished first drafts, and went back to start revising for a time.

I always wanted to do this because I knew there were projects in my backlog that would need more time devoted to them than I would have if I didn't do something like this. I usually publish, when publishing twice a year, in May and October, which means that I have a small window to get the books revised and such before they go off to the editor. I wanted to make sure I had the time to really dig into them, and do any rewrites that were necessary. It also gave me the time to spend longer with some projects that were due to go to the editor. Like with the Invisible quartet, I needed more time because there'll be a period when they're with the sensitivity readers and I also need time to put their corrections in the document. So yeah, it worked out well for me, and I'll be doing this for at least the next year.

So I wanted to talk to you about the differences I'd noticed between drafting stories, and revising them. Of course this is only going to apply to my way of doing things. I'm sure that other writers approach the drafting and revising process differently, and I am not, for one moment, thinking mine is the only, or even the best, way to go about doing it. We all have to do what works for us.

#1 DRAFTING IS MORE LAID BACK FOR ME
I am more of a panster than a planner. At least when it applies to drafting. I will have a minimal chapter plan, but beyond that I don't really think too far ahead. Because of that, drafting is a lot more laid back, it doesn't seem to have as much of an onus on getting this right and closing this plot hole or working out this character arc and the like.

In contrast, revising is literally, for me at least, where this things matter a whole ton. If I don't focus on the plot holes then, I will get hit with them while editing and I do not want that. So when it comes to revising, I do outline and plan more, because I have to make sure that there aren't little bits and pieces missed. Otherwise things can go very very wrong. So revising, for me, is a little more pressure, but it's not as bad as editing, which I'll talk about another time.

#2 REVISING NEEDS MORE IMMEDIATE FOCUS
Like I said above, revising is when the pressure increases and I need to make sure to iron out all those kinks. It's the time when if I don't know if something works, I need to find the answer because otherwise I'm in big trouble. I usually revise over a long period, months or so, and because of that I'm able to take some time, not much, to really think about the long term implications of doing things a certain way. I need to have the ideas, the outline, and I need to make sure that I stick as close to it as possible. And if I don't, I need to have an idea of why, and follow through.

Drafting is more about exploring the story for the first time. Like I'll have some goal posts or scene ideas but they can and do change on the regular. While I do some minimal editing while I go, I'm aware that if I make a big change, all I have to do is note it down and think about it later, as in when revising, because right then all that matters is getting the story down on the page.

#3 BOTH REQUIRE DIFFERENT SKILL SETS
Drafting has it's own process for me, like I've said, I don't have to sit down and have a strict outline. I don't have to worry if character A had brown hair on one page and blonde on another. I don't have to be too strict with myself. I can just follow the story and that's what works for me.

On the flip side, revising, the way I approach it anyway, allows me to fill in those holes and gaps and requires a more critical eye of both the story, and the way I'm telling it. While I've only, a handful of times, had to rewrite the book completely, I do have to do massive rewrites because the bones are good, but everything else needs serious work.

No matter which one you're working on, they require different kinds of skills, and they are both hard work. Good luck to all of those writers doing any of these. You got this!

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

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