Congratulations, you finished the junk draft of your book manuscript.
Now what?
Finishing the first draft, or junk draft as some call it, comes with a sense of accomplishment that makes you feel like you can take on the world. That thing – your story – that you’ve worked on, sometimes for years, is finally done.
But then comes the realization that your junk draft is just that – junk. Don’t get me wrong. There will be a lot of good ideas in that first draft. But it’s far from ready to be sent out into the world.
THE REVISION PROCESS
For every writer, the process of getting from Draft 1 to Draft 2 will look different. But the good thing is that there’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s all about finding what works for you.
Revising your manuscript’s junk draft involves much more than looking for grammar errors or changing a few things here and there. Those technical edits come later in the process.
Writing a structure draft, or the second draft of your book, centers on the big picture. For non-fiction, this involves making sure each chapter supports your argument and that everything fits together. With fiction, this is where you look for plot holes, scenes that need to be added or removed, and addressing any places where information is just plain wrong (character names, timeline, setting switches, etc.)
For me, I’m still learning what my revising process looks like. Since this is my first full-length book, I’ve experimented with different methods. So far, the system that works best has been to print out each chapter, read through the full book while taking notes, and then go back to rewrite each chapter based on those notes.
For each chapter, I use a sticker on the first page indicating the draft and chapter. Since this is my first draft, each sticker starts with One, then the chapter number (1.1, 1.2, etc). Future drafts will start with Two for the second draft (2.1), and so on. This will help me keep track of which draft is which. Also, keeping copies of each draft will allow me to go back and see the manuscript from start to finish.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED WHILE WORKING ON MY STRUCTURE DRAFT
As I started revising my junk draft, I realized early on that I had a lot to fix. To be honest, there were parts of the early chapters I didn’t even remember because I had written them so long ago.
As I have gone through this process, I’ve kept focus on the fact that this draft is about structure. It’s hard to turn off the inner editor, but I’m not worrying about grammar or line-by-line sentences. This draft is about making the overall story better.
1. Falling into plot holes
One of the biggest concerns for fiction is whether or not the story makes sense. As good as the ideas might be, translating the story from your head to the page doesn’t happen all at once. As I read through my junk draft, I saw a number of places where events didn’t fit or were missing information. Some sections I had actually written “ADD MORE HERE.” Obviously, I need to add more there. I also have a number of areas where I need to create more depth to my characters and develop elements of the story so readers aren’t confused when that thing is mentioned again later.
2. You’re boring! Do something!
One of the biggest issues I’ve discovered so far is that, frankly, my main character is kind of boring. While he goes through the basic narrative doing what he should do for the purpose of the story, that’s about all I’ve written for him. Just the facts. I need to spend more time delving into his internal struggles, as well as adding more situations to bring out his real personality. Basically, he needs more stress in his life. By creating more tension within his world, I’ll be better able to illustrate my themes.
3. Timing is everything
Along with plot holes, another area I need to address concerns events that are out of place or just don’t add to the story’s progression. Pacing, for a novel, is basically how slow or fast the narrative moves from Point A to Point B. There are some scenes in my novel that are too slow, and others where I move too quickly and end up skimming over important elements. As I add in new scenes, I need to ensure that the timeline is correct. But I also need to make sure each scene moves the narrative along at the correct pace. Too slow and readers get bored. But moving too fast can leave readers confused.
WHY DOES WRITING THE STRUCTURE DRAFT SEEM HARDER?
Completing the first draft of a book is cause for celebration. And you’d think once the initial story is done, things get easier. I’m not sure if it’s just me, or if other writers (especially first time authors), have the same problem, but writing this second draft has actually been harder in many ways.
The junk draft is all about getting your ideas down. While writing a book isn’t easy, the first draft means you know it’s going to be a rough sketch of what the final version will become.
With the structure draft, I now see all the things I need to change in order to get the manuscript from the idea phase to something that resembles a real book that can be shared with beta readers.
My focus for this draft: Add tension by putting my characters in stressful and/or emotional situations, correct issues with timeline, and vary the action in scenes to ensure pacing is appropriate to keep readers’ attention.
The goal is to finish the structure draft by the end of February 2019. I’m roughly halfway through right now.
The good news is that, while I have a lot to correct, I have a good handle on the new elements that need to be incorporated. I hope with this new direction, I can turn my junk draft into a manuscript with real narrative structure.
**When you’re working on a long-term project, whether it’s writing, a personal goal, or something for work, what process do you use when creating different drafts/versions?**
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