7 Misconceptions Writers Have About Drafting

[@jessiecutie1709]

As someone who struggles to write a one page essay, I find it fascinating the process writers go through to complete a book

[@elbraddock7711]

Loooool, I hate writing essays. One page takes me forever, but when I'm writing fiction I can write 20 pages in the same amount of time.😂

[@netaricker2343]

Don't worry lol, we authors also struggle with those essays XD

[@marchiaglico4994]

Hahaha. I hate writing essays but I've already written about 40k words so far in my novel. I don't know why. 😂

[@sofijasofija2867]

Im a writer and i struggle with essays. I guess it's all about wanting to write and being forced to write about sonething you don't nesessarily give a sh1t about. A lot of times when writing an essay, i struggle with the actual points and spend a lot of time trying to think of ways to end a paragraph and when writiting a story, it's all about a specific character ecperiencing something without any paragraph structure rules. Moral of the story ESSAYS are still HARD and BORING

[@Skinniest_Kween]

Creative writers often suck at essays. I should know.

[@myribstellmesheslying]

I read this somewhere and I'll put it here: All first drafts are perfect because all they have to do is exist. Or something like that. It helped me greatly. I hope it will help someone as well.

[@RachelBateman]

The drafting misconception that bothers me the most is the idea that fast writing = bad writing. Or, conversely, that slow writing = better writing. We are all different. Our processes are different, and our skills are different. Writing speed has zero to do with writing quality.

[@AlexaDonne]

That's a good one! Wish I'd thought of it for this video!

[@j.rileyindependentproductions]

Agreed so much!

[@gypsymoth8977]

Yes! This become obvious when you do consistent sprints of the SAME time block. Sometimes it's 500 words of well-aligned usable content, sometimes it's 1200 words that are doomed for the cutting room floor. There are just too many personal variables to assume that time has anything to do with quality. ✌

[@rebbiejoanthony5362]

My slow writing is usually my worst writing. If I'm writing slowly, it's because I'm uninspired and am having trouble finding the words, but trying to force it. Then I never keep it.

[@jenellebelle9828]

If I write too slow and methodically, I totally lose my writing flow.

[@karinlach2917]

I read writers' misconceptions about dating 😂😂😂 Drafting way more important. ❤️

[@pseudonymousentity5334]

Karin Lach 😂😂

[@heianvampire]

I had a passion project I worked on for more than a decade and I drafted and drafted and it still wasn't working out. Ultimately, I had to let it die. I'm truly in mourning for this story and perhaps one day I will have the strength to resurrect it and do a complete rewrite. But now I'm working on the first draft of a new story, and I'm loving it so far.

[@oddeyes9413]

I actually did that with my first novel for the series I'm writing. I decided it was time to reinvent the entire story from the ground up. It wasn't easy though.

[@heianvampire]

@@oddeyes9413 I think that's what will end up happening with mine. Good luck with your series, I'm sure it'll be great!

[@oddeyes9413]

@@heianvampire Thanks. Good luck to you as well.

[@kmak4861]

I don't know you but I felt the pain in that comment, I feel like life is too short for you to not being that story in to the world!

[@heianvampire]

@@kmak4861 thank you so much for that. I have taken parts of my original story that I felt were most worth sharing, and worked them into my new story. I'm very pleased with my current project and all who've read excerpts really like it!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Loved the statement 'the job of your first draft is to finish it.'

[@panneler0san]

I was afraid of developmental edits until recently, when I was editing my first draft and realized I was bored of my own book lol. Gutted about 40K and writing new scenes that highlight the characters and the Promise of the Premise more, couldn't be happier!

[@miezepups15]

Editing lost its scare factor for me once I realise that every mistake is fixable. Maybe you have to rewrite ten scenes to do it, but you can.

[@lindacobo1744]

I tend to edit as I write. As a pantser when I draft I tend to reread my story or at least pervious chapter and edit. I hate when people tell me to leave everything as is and just write straight thru. Who can do that? Is it a skill eventually acquired? I just can't write straight thru and notice something and not fix it. Sigh. I'm grateful to hear some authors go thru multiple edits.

[@RachelBateman]

I always write straight through on my first draft. I’d drive myself crazy if I kept going back to edit as I go. But that doesn’t mean everyone has to do it that way! We all figure out what works best for us. (Though, when people tell me they struggle to ever finish a first draft, I always recommend they try pushing forward without looking back until the end. Just to prove to themselves they can finish.)

[@lindacobo1744]

@@RachelBateman I wish I could work that way alas my brain can't function like that. Maybe one day I will change but for now its my current crazy process 😂

[@JulianGreystoke]

Oh yeah, my average it about 4 drafts

[@keiths2902]

I can’t write something that doesn’t feel like it’s /it/, so I totslly get that. I don’t commit to page what I haven’t combed through in my head and fit into the larger story first. It has to ALL make sense, or NONE of it does; and I can’t proceed until it makes sense/feels right/is good.

[@Lilitha11]

I think the key is to use a bit of moderation. If you edit as you go it takes longer, but you save yourself editing later on so it balances out some what. I think even reading the prior chapter as you are writing the next can be helpful. You don't want to be sitting down writing chapter 5, and going back to reread and editing stuff in chapter 1 though. As long as you are making forward progress each time you sit down and write, you are probably fine.

[@tessa3474]

THIS video was so good. And honestly it's so freeing to know that you can just write the thing and not stress about how perfect it is. Being surrounded by mostly self publishing writers there's just SO much pressure to be DONE RIGHT NOW and I just...honestly think that books need a bit more love than that to be publish ready so it's hard kind of pressing back against that mentality. The misconception I DEFINITELY see the most is that the draft just needs a grammar edit and then it's done and that one always has me like 😱

[@AlexaDonne]

That one kills me too! I see it on Reddit a lot from newbie writers and you always have to ask them "what do you define as editing?"

[@danielwright7710]

Seriously. I used to be one of those writers who was so in love with my writing. Handing out my rough draft like it's one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and when people complain about how confusing it was and how they couldn't follow what was going on, I'd scoff and say they aren't intellectually superior enough to comprehend the sheer majesty of my work! Bwa ha ha!

[@jacindaellison3363]

I used to think that, too. When I wrote my first draft-don't know if I will get back to it b/c I'm currently working on another project-I would only edit for better sentences, description, or dialogue.

[@ravenbellebooks5665]

I keep telling myself that my first draft doesn't have to be perfect, but I obviously don't believe what I'm saying. In school, I NEVER had to outline and the only 'rough draft' revisions I had to make were simple mistakes like typos or a few word tenses. But these were 5-10 page papers - not novels! I just have to bite the bullet I suppose. Thanks for this encouragement, I definitely need it.

[@irohautala8293]

Oh damn I'm so used to watching your older videos I didn't even look at the date on this one until I saw that there were only 3 comments! My first draft is definitely shit, I'm constantly fighting the urge to go back and rewrite the first two chapters, but if I start doing that I stop progressing, so it's kinda motivating to finish. Because then I can FINALLY go back and write them better. And I kinda realized that my story has a big blank right in the middle where I have no idea what happens and I'm dreading getting to that point while trying to come up with stuff while writing towards it.

[@julietfischer5056]

I can get stuck that way, too. Then I can't get going for some reason. Here's a suggestion I picked up from various sources: index cards with scene synopses. 'Character A and Character B have a fight over (something)"; "Character A visits Side Character 1 to learn about (event)" and so on. Shift them around. Maybe a scene would work better if it were earlier or later in the story because it's more relevant there. Then this other scene makes more sense because it's a natural outgrowth of that scene and subsequent events. Or just write down these scenes. They'll be full of info dumps, and you may not use half of them, but they can help you get a grip on your characters, settings, and situations. I'm working on a fanfic right now that had me stalled for months until the simple thing appeared. Now I have to get the characters there. But I have a file of scenes that I wrote (BEFORE starting the story) that I couldn't use because the beginning of the story changed the context. Once I had that first scene, the rest of it fell into place until the writer's block. Or reread those first chapters to see if the action's in the wrong place. Tony Hillerman once wrote about starting one of his Navajo mysteries too early in the storyline. He scrapped the first chapter, rewrote the beginning, and used the discarded material in a federal agent's description of the antagonist's actions. 'The Cats of Ulthar' tells us up front that it's against the law to harm cats in that town, then tells the story of why the law exists. Most Sherlock Holmes stories begin with the victim of the crime coming to him for help, then we learn what happened and follow Holmes and Watson as they investigate.

[@nuny4592]

I love knowing that I don't have to die over first draft. Literally almost every time that do a new draft, I change some scenes and (try to) make them more impacting. This made me feel better about my writing process and life.

[@adventureswithmadison]

I'm definitely a born editor, its one of the reasons I dlstarted outlining my stories this year. I absolutely despise drafting, and because it would take me months to conplete the first act (since I was creating the story as i went) I stopped writing.

[@authorgreene]

I have like "30 drafts" of my first novel before publication. But many of those weren't really draft drafts since it was just cleaning up the prose a bit. But each set of edits is a new document on the computer, so that's how I add them up. Great video! Cheers :)

[@JulianGreystoke]

I'm a born drafter and it's annoying because I hate editing lol. I always have so many first drafts lined up waiting for their turn.

[@purpleghost106]

(not that you need my thoughts, but in case it benefits you I want to mention an idea) A hypothetical solution: Do you think it'd work to read the scene, then write it like you would a draft with an outline? (where the 'outline' is the scene's last form in the previous draft.) That way you don't have to 'edit', you're basically leaning on your bigger skill, but with more structure to your second version of 'drafting' so that it'd come out more polished.

[@sarah-ms3qd]

I'm the opposite lol. I'm over halfway done with a first draft right now and I'm already making lists of everything I want to edit in it. I have to stop myself from doing so now!

[@nneoma1583]

Lol same. I use Google docs, and on occasion, I go back and reread random stuff, and leave comments on stuff I need to fix, or I just fix it 😂 I also, as I’m writing and if I don’t like what I write, I leave a comment saying how much I hate it and need to fix it 😂 I’m more of an editor than a drafter.

[@zoomzoom103]

Could you do a video on how to just make yourself sit down and write? I've always been kinda bad at forming a writing schedule but for the past few months it has been terrible and I just don't know how to make myself stop getting distracted long enough to continue writing

[@AlexaDonne]

I do have a video on forming a writing habit that might help. But it's not a topic I've touched on recently, so I can work on a new video for it.

[@rodneyholmes5260]

Your last point is where I'm at now. I'm doing a final check on grammar, plot logic, but I realize this is it. I need to release my work , come what may. I enjoy your videos.

[@mischarowe]

1:24 "And you put a little placeholder" Glad to know I'm not the only one who does that. Thanks for this pick-me-up, it really helps. :)

[@MorganChaos]

the first draft of the book i just wrote had Shipname, NotCeasarFlickerman, and Commander Noname, lol.

[@mischarowe]

@@MorganChaos Lol. Can definitely relate. :)

[@mechantechatonne]

I really needed to hear this. I'm a drafter and editing is the stuff of my nightmares. I have a book that I drafted last year that I've been alternating trying to edit and procrastinating from even looking at for...a year. I've been so stressed!

[@JulianGreystoke]

I have the same problem. I hate editing but it's a necessary evil. 😭

[@zoejung5570]

Thank you so much for these eloquent and well thought out videos! (usually I'm silently watching, commenting makes me strangely nervous and english isn't my first language ) But I just wanted to tell you that your videos are appreciated around the world! I'm working on my first draft right now, it's really hard but your videos help and motivate tremendously!❤️You are very inspiring and smart and it reflects in your work. You will probably never see this but i hope you have a great day. Greetings from europa 👋

[@therealfirelord3359]

This is such a wholesome comment. Also, your english is better than some native speaker's.

[@thewysterianinja]

My first drafts tend to be pretty clean, but that's probably why it's so slow going and I pretty much never finish anything. I think it stems both from growing up thinking the first draft is the final draft and worry about so much burn-out that I won't have the energy to make it pretty.

[@mich_writes_fiction]

I find it hard to believe--let alone follow--the common writing advice to not edit as you draft. Who wants to end up with 80,000 words of shit? Maybe that works for a lot of writers, but as a former editor, this advice is tough to follow as I'm drafting my debut novel. Thank you for posting this video! This was very helpful.

[@benjaminharmon6541]

Your channel (and this video!) have been such a big help to my writing process. You helped me realize that I am a total plotter and the reason I couldn't fight past writer's block was because I was trying to pants and that's not how I work. I do have the fear of having to completely rewrite a work, so I used to think that my first draft would have to be "good enough" and that was really holding me back. Truthfully, the best way for me to prevent block is to make a proper outline, and then just crap out whatever words come to me, then rework the scenes to have greater emotional impact. Now I'm no longer afraid of editing, and my writing speed is improving drastically! It's all just for fanfiction, but writing is a wonderful skill to develop no matter what it's for.

[@rocketaxxonu]

Love the point about how the number of drafts doesn't necessarily reflect on whether it's a bad concept/good concept. The writer's level of experience can play into it, but the fact is that there are simply different difficulty levels depending on the project. Some books/scenes are inherently more complicated to bring to a readable/finished state than others, and all writers will have their own particular strengths and weaknesses (some might struggle with the romance bits, others the action, etc.), so I think it's helpful as the writer to be mentally prepared for that going in.

[@MustafaKulle]

Hey Alexa, totally agree. This is by far your best video. Thank you. The first draft is the start of every book's journey, there's always room for improvement. ^_^

[@amy-suewisniewski6451]

Would you ever consider doing a video on big picture drafting advice/suggestions? Based on common pit falls of people in the drafting phase? Some things I see are things like: 1) People who never finish drafts but keep jumping to the next thing. 2) People attached to one draft of something they've been working on for 5+ years that just constantly gets re-written. It's been in the "editing phase" for years. 3) People attached to a draft/idea for 5+ years that never gets written/finished. Usually has pages and pages of notes but maybe 15,000 words. 4) People trying to turn their engrossing fan-fic into an original story with some superficial swaps that haven't distanced themselves enough from the original fiction. 5) People drafting something where they have become overly attached to the characters and thus, tend to hate adding conflict to the story. I feel like you've touched on a lot of these topics in other videos but I'd love to hear it in one place, especially for how these drafts tend to fair in a traditonally published market (at least when it comes to querying).

[@AlexaDonne]

That's a great idea!

[@dorothyinman4632]

Thank you so much for this video. I feel like as creatives we always think our work isn't good enough and feel the constant need to revise over and over again. I think one of the most common misconceptions about a published book is when we pick it up from the book store we assume that's what the writer queried when in reality any published book has been most likely edited/reviewed by multiple people - who are professionals - and changes were made. A writer never queries an agent or gets picked up by a publisher and they say oh this is perfect let's just publish it as is. Your videos vlogs really help writers understand the process and what really goes into getting a book published. So thank you 💜

[@rebeccasperring1747]

Thank you for breaking down copy vs developmental edits! Also for me, getting the first draft down is a barrier, so if I can get my ideas down i have something to work with. I just can’t stand looking at a blank page!

[@SeanORaigh]

The most liberating part of my new approach to drafting is being able to retroactively change things. I'll be writing say chapter ten and come up with something, a character trait, a plot thread, that should be introduced earlier and not stress. I just put a little note in my file that I'll consult once I'm in the editing stage. My first novel literally fell apart when I changed one thing about the protagonist's motivation when I was ~60% of the way through.

[@favouriteK]

My advisor in uni went through over ONE HUNDRED drafts/major edits of his first novel. He would rip it apart, put it back together, rewrite the frankenbook, and repeat until he was happy with it. He was also kinda a perfectionist, so it's understandable.

[@suijin25]

I've done it. Had to burn an entire book when I realized that the heist of my cyberpunk heist book was the least interesting part. Ditched like 80% - 90% of that thing.

[@CupCakeUnleashed]

Almost finished a first draft.

[@KendraDantes]

I just recently found your channel and have been totally binge-watching your videos. Your advice is amazing, and it makes me so excited about writing!

[@leech1355]

You always post when I’m settling down for a chill. ❤️

[@frankhainke7442]

I remember an interview with Günther Grass in wich he told the story of a colleague who said to him that he was shocked when he send an manuscript to his editor and he just published it as it was.

[@thereccher8746]

People are wrong if they think re-writing means starting from the beginning. It's moving forward because the draft you wrote is an outline for the draft you're writing from scratch. I love re-writing and find it to be the most relaxing and confident part of the process.

[@siriuslyconfused1]

I’ve been really scared by the idea of having to do a total scrap and re-write, I have always written first drafts with so many structural problems that I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, I’m really hoping that doing a little more plotting ahead of time will make things different this time, because honestly nothing I’ve produced was worth the full re-write when there were other ideas to pursue.

[@daniadominguez8770]

here i am watching every video you have about drafts and revising to start editing

[@jadeansell]

Learning no first draft is perfect was a life saver. I struggled getting past the first few chapters as I'd keep going back to improve and edit it, now i get it all down and if i realise a mistake i write it in my phone notes and fix it when i had finished the book.

[@MorganChaos]

omg, the born editor/born drafter thing. i am absolutely a born drafter and i feel SEEN.

[@ashtrologytv]

Lol I write stand up comedy, but when you said that high draft count doesn’t mean the project isn’t good, that made my heart soar 💕 thank you!

[@miezepups15]

I edit as I go with a major do-overs every January, so once I've written the last word of the last scene of the last chapter, I only need to go over the book once more to do a final edit and then once more to fix the new mistakes I introduced on that final edit, and then once more a year later to fix the stuff I couldn't see a year ago.

[@vilet918]

I think the I think the biggest thing this channel has taught me is basically however you right that's natural for you and gets the book done is fine. I'm a bit of a slow writer, I have a full-time job, I write by hand, and I see all the stuff about nanowrimo style fast drafting and I'm a very impatient person and a very scatterbrained person so that appeals to me. However it just doesn't work for me and I almost changed my process entirely just to finish books fast. I wanted to just bare bones write what happens in the scene and move on but I couldn't do that I need to write out my scenes pretty much in full. The language is pretty, the sentences are nice but don't take too long to write. That's just naturally the way I write and the way I think about my stories. That means it takes me longer to get through scenes and I thought there was something wrong with me because of that that. I thought this was the reason I never finished anything, cuz it just took me too long but I think the reason I never finish anything is because I just don't stick with it long enough. I keep trying to mold my process away from what's natural to me. I can't just right bare bones what happens in the scene without anything pretty because it takes me out of the voice it takes me out of the character's head and it's not fun to write any more because I don't get to be in the moment. So thanks Alexa for basically giving me permission to just be myself sometimes I need that🧡

[@jasminef6810]

It would be amazing if you could do a video on historical fiction (and romance?) because not that many KZbinr authors talk about it.

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

Love_always_matters I *absolutely agree* - it feels like it’s a mystery subject a lot of the time. I would love to know about the variety in historical novels/ historical fiction/ historical fantasy, how agents & publishers feel about them- & how people go about writing them; one of my WiPs is set around, during & after the English Civil War, so mid-17th c- & my research has taken me to some very obscure places. Are there different rules to writing these types of novels? The internet has changed a lot of things, I feel; people are *going* to call you up on mistakes- now, more than ever, so I don’t really stop researching (I try not to let it take over my writing but I know it’s *so* important)- yet, there are authors out there _cough_ Philippa Gregory _cough_ who still publish what seem (to my personal history lover-minded view) garbage stories.

[@jasminef6810]

OcarinaSapph1r3 -24 absolutely, like is it a dead genre? The only newer books I know of/ have read (mainly historical romance) have kind of sucked. Like they are really cliche and inaccurate. Are they not really in demand anymore? I’m writing a regency era story at the mo, and it’s just such a overdone era. But I just love it so much I had to write in it.

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

Love_always_matters They say write what you want to read... & I love me some historical fiction! But it’s disheartening to see mediocrity rewarded- there are far better historical novels deserving of adaptation than many of what I’ve seen (looking at you, Philippa Gregory)- & why is it the **same** stuff getting redone- & the same *type* of stuff? Don’t get me wrong- like, Shakespeare & Austen are eternal (the latter especially so... I’m actually descended from the Austen’s via one of Jane’s brothers, so her work has a special place in my heart), but maybe give something else a chance. How many times do we really need to see *another* ‘Little Women’, or ‘Wuthering Heights’? I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the new one (though Jo in the trailer did not sit well with me, & I’m really tired of movies having the same actor play a child/ young teen, & then older teen/ adult, just because the older actor means bank- it feels stupid, frankly. It’s different with a series, I guess- up to a point). Rosalind Laker is my absolute fave *_ever_* historical fiction writer, & there are a couple of others I enjoy; I read the Reader’s Digest Condensed version of ‘The Venetian Mask’ when I was like 11/ 12, & fell in love with historical fiction. She brings some fascinating ‘shadow-worlds’, as I call them, to life: ‘The Sugar Pavilion’- with smuggling, sea-bathing at Brighton & early confection-making, around the time of the Revolution/ Napoleonic Wars - ‘The Jewelled Path’; with its’ Art Nouveau aesthetics, competing courtesans- both real & fictional, a young woman trying to forge a career for herself, & finding & losing love- jewel thieves, Russian nobles, ambitious dancers & Monte Carlo- I mean, it’s just a great read... I don’t know why, but I see Katie McGrath in a red wig, in the lead role of the latter, when I visualise the story in my head.

[@jasminef6810]

OcarinaSapph1r3 -24 I haven’t actually read loads and loads of historical novels, but two out of a series I have read (called the Bridgetons) by Julia Quinn, is getting adapted. God the first book was dire, almost everything about it was bad, that I can’t even write it all here. The second book was an improvement, but my only motivation for reading the whole series is someone I know is connected to the Netflix adaptation. Shame really, there are so many more books that deserve it than that one.

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

Love_always_matters Tell me about it- & it’s just as bad when they ‘reinvent’ or ‘reinterpret’ the classics. I don’t get why they often ignore the book/s in adaptations- they get the rights, & then don’t care, because they apparently don’t *need* to; but there’s **reasons** why stuff becomes popular (even crappy stuff, _sigh_ like 50 Shades... [I only watched Cinematic Excrement & Lost in Adaptation’s **fantastic** reviews of them]) I get the importance of balancing stuff like that, truly- but all the stuff you hear with authors disowning adaptations makes me sad. If they were done properly, authors wouldn’t be doing that, & fans & critics would be less likely to castigate the adaptation (some stuff is just poor in its’ original form, too- & an adaptation can only do so much to fix it... don’t @ me, but I prefer the movie-version of ‘Watchmen’s’ endplot, to the alien-thing of the author.) Like, this isn’t even a dream, because I don’t think I’ll ever reach Best Seller/ household name-status, but I’d like to imagine that if a novel or series of mine was ever adapted, I’d be able to describe it to people as supplementary to the book/s, rather than an entirely different entity, as almost everyone currently does - I _get_ the necessity, sometimes, in *some* areas, to refine & even cut- but it shouldn’t be arbitrary or personal preference; it should be what best suits the story, & its’ themes & atmosphere. You could try something *really* radical- & respect the audience. I get studios & bean counters want to have as wide an audience as possible, but things don’t appeal to everyone & that should be ok. Sorry for the rambling, lol.

[@deanj.9324]

The 2nd one is pretty common. I don't think I've heard anyone say that before. It's kind of refreshing. Thanks!

[@A1exBOfficial]

I'm SO glad to come across this. I'm definitely a born drafter rather than a born editer and I never realised it until recently how I don't have fear writing a novel - if I know the hook, characters, and ending, I have faith it will come together - but it's moving from draft one to draft two onwards that I struggle with. And, like you said, it's that fear (particularly of the whole tearing the book down and rewriting it - we all have that one writer friend who talks about doing this!) I think is stopping me. How do we get over the fear?

[@campwriter9289]

My biggest misconception (of my own fabrication) was thinking there were ‘rules’ to writing. Nothing kills the creative process more than when you think you’re doing it wrong. I also thought editing was prettying up your manuscript and using ‘smarter’ words (thank goodness I didn’t end up self publishing that first book)

[@survivorlisa]

Perfect timing for this! Tomorrow is the start of my writing retreat and I needed this push to finish my first draft. Thank you!

[@kodomotachi1]

Robert Frost spent 14 years to rewrite a poem - it started as 'In White' and ended up as 'Design.' Yup, never fully happy with the result!

[@oddeyes9413]

I don't think any writer is ever pleased with their work. Its always something you ultimately don't like.

[@emotionalmachine8964]

Im almost done with first draft and the hardest thing is to NOT think about querying for like the next several months while I edit. Damn, as I writer I’m so needy!

[@m.stokes8058]

Making my way through your videos and ran across some early ones. Content was always wonderful and wow, have you upped your game in presentation. Adding the glamour aspect really adds to the effect. Power, baby!

[@aff77141]

my first drafts are either almost exactly what i want, or literally nothing but memes, tropes, and short hand, but get everything needed; basically an extended outline; Ideas first, fine tuning next, to see what you need to change, getting there by whatever works for each person!

[@Ejcarab]

As always your videos are informative and I love to see them. I especially want to thank you for telling us the difference between copy edits and developmental edits. That help me out a ton. Thanks again for sharing this video.

[@theraceanalystphdprovingha4119]

You became my go to writing mentor...You have completed an Epic number of videos. Thanks! Time to dive back into writing.

[@etjwrites]

I've heard the first misconception a lot, and I'm really glad you included (and cleared up) the others as well - especially 2 & 7!

[@rebeccaphelps3351]

So helpful! About to get into the editing process and I'm super nervous! This helped a lot.

[@Miyawakiss]

I have always wanted to be an author since I was little and I grew up writing tons of drafts of stories. Sadly, I've come to the harsh reality that where I'm from doesn't really have a proper writing industry and locals generally don't support local authors who are very small in number.

[@victoriaolender6289]

Thanks for posting this, I really needed someone to tell me that letting go of perfection is okay. I am definitely in overworking territory, and I do feel a lot better when I let the draft rest for a while so I can look at with fresh eyes later. Thanks for posting!

[@arianaannachi2254]

I love your videos! Even after having finished 4 novels and 18 kids books, I still keep coming back because there’s always some nugget of wisdom that helps me continue on ❤️

[@anteros__]

This is a very dumb question, but by chance could you do a video where you show what a basic 1st draft, 2nd draft, etc. looks like? I' m hoping to start writing a series.... and I am extremely nervous to start.

[@AlexaDonne]

Can you clarify what you mean? Looks like in what way?

[@thetoughunicorn7616]

I believe he/she means how rough (or readable) the first draft is supposed to be? I also had a hard time imagining what it's supposed to look like :/

[@pbarteau8698]

I would also really love a video about that- I have gotten good at finishing first drafts but I find revisions intimidating. I got very good at revising/editing short pieces and schoolwork, but large drafts feel different and it's difficult to know how to prioritize what to address. Like, is going with my gut on the little things that bug me a good way to start, or is it better to address large structural things first even if it's harder to think about and easier to get stuck on, and is it fine/necessary to do both at once, or will that lead a bad place? I think what I want is a video about how you /decide/ what to work on from one draft to the next.

[@teganmartin8751]

I wouldn’t be worried about what a first, second, third draft looks like, because it is going to look different for every single person. There are so many factors to consider including level of ability, the genre, the complexity of the storyline, the style of prose, etc. that will influence how polished one draft is from the next. My first drafts tend to be fairly polished, because I’m a perfectionist and get caught up in tweaking it as a go - but it also takes me a million years to finish something as a result. It also means more focus on developmental edits rather than line edits. But that is just me. Like Alexa said, each project is going to be a bit different from the next, so I wouldn’t compare too closely. :)

[@pbarteau8698]

@@teganmartin8751 Sure every project is going to look different even for the same person, but I would still like to see a video about it and find it helpful. I'm not worried or comparing myself to someone who writes a very different kind of fiction, so just worry about yourself.

[@sharonefee1426]

Thank you! Finally someone says the first draft is imperfect rather than sucks!

[@tomconnor2838]

Another excellent video. Thank you! Yeah, perfectionism. That was really helpful because it's something I forget the moment I go back into the file of a chapter I'm drafting. Also helpful?: No work is ever "final"--we could always make it better. Will probably watch this several more times...or move on to the next video on drafts!

[@cringemeister04]

Omg this really actually helped me to understand what an actual draft/editing of a book really means thanks! I was always so confused.

[@madmadame1508]

The last misconception is something I am personally grappling with. Whenever I let my manuscript rest and come back to it, there are always things I feel I can tighten or improve. I even had a dream once of being invited to read my work and panicking internally about all the edits I can't make while I read. Finding that point to let go is difficult, particularly when I know that, if I'm lucky, my published manuscript is 'set in stone'. But I'm hoping to do that in the next month or so and query it to agents.

[@michellepitzer9774]

I’m basically redoing my first 10 chapters. I’m ok with it, and know it will come out better in the end.

[@aidenignition]

I soo needed this. I just finished my first draft of an actual novel length project in December and I haven't read it or anything because I'm afraid of all the edits I know it need to do. I didn't let anything stop my progress. I didn't even give my love interest a last name, I just made a note in the doc every time it came up because I didn't want to stop.

[@andrewdifederico4911]

I'm definitely a born editor. I find it extremely difficult to turn that switch off so I can just write.

[@HuehnerWonderLand]

First I have to say I really enjoy your videos! I'm from europe and we don't have a good booktube. Funny thing is, my first drafts are very good and in no means garbage. I have a hard time to unserstand, when someone talks about a lot of editing and rounds of beta readers. Not even the Agents suggested a lot of editing, just some little things. Got my first contract with a main publisher some weeks ago and sold a five book series. Worked six weeks on each books and that was it. Can't belive I got away this lucky. Now of course the publisher will do some editing with me, but I guess it's one of this unreal storys you hear sometimes. But I take it, haha. Love your content!

[@HDloly]

Congratulations! Did you have previous writing experience or this book was your first time ever?

[@HuehnerWonderLand]

@@HDloly thank you so much! I published three SP books - but I'm not a marketing person so it they did okay but not great. Guess going with a publishing house is a better fit for me.

[@rosalieoosterlaken2949]

wait wait wait wait, you wrote a book in only six weeks?

[@HuehnerWonderLand]

@@rosalieoosterlaken2949 it's always six weeks for me - at least before Corona. Now there is Homeschooling going on, so I'm not writing a lot at the moment :(

[@cekane88]

Wow, I'm so glad I found this video. Everything that has been worrying me about my first draft has been mentioned as perfectly normal! God, this is like when I found out everyone has those weird eye floaties as well

[@azriel9499]

I much prefer editing and rewriting to writing. It's not so easy to produce a scene, but I can easily make it better. I suspect I'll find I'm an over-editor, I have a tendency to over tweak things in other areas of my life.

[@RyanBeane]

Thanks for the info, Alexa. Very interesting! I’m a 16 y/o author who just got a book deal!!! 😃 I actually just posted a video about it, too.

[@conor8185]

"Every first draft is perfect because all the first draft has to do is exist." - Jane Smiley

[@ccstopmotionproductions739]

The most important thing for me when I’m writing my first draft is something you said in another video. You said that writing block doesn’t really exist and omg its so true! Sure, there’s days when I absolutely don’t want to write and feel like nothings coming out but even if it’s not that good as long as I can get it down on the page that’s all that matters. I’ll just fix it when I get to the second draft anyways!

[@Spencer-fu3wp]

Some of the best writing advice I've heard in a while! Thank you so much, Alexa!

[@DaisyXMachina]

Heinlein allegedly only ever did cosmetic editing before sending out to an editor--obviously the exception to the rule!

[@skmarshall22]

Can you traditionally publish in more than one genre? Assuming you’re not mega famous. I’ve been binging your content lately (I love how encouraging and funny you are!) but haven’t stumbled on this answer yet. Would love to know! It feels hard to “commit” to one genre.

[@AlexaDonne]

Yes, but it's not easy to do. You have to be adept in multiple genre spaces and carefully build up that career and several different author brands. It's something to build up to and with with your agent on.

[@skmarshall22]

Alexa Donne Wow thank you for the reply! ☺️ When you say author brands, does that mean building your career using a pen name in different genres, to keep the brands separate?

[@Lilitha11]

I am not a marketing person so I can't really comment too much on that, however I do know that some people do write under different names because it helps their brand. Some people can get away with different genres under the same name though. I suppose it depends on how similar the genres are and if there is an overlap with the audience. Anyway, I wouldn't feel pressured into thinking you have to pick on genre and stay in it forever. If you really want to write multiple genres you can probably figure something out.

Nice and useful post. From my point of view, definitely, any draft is necessary, but it hasn't to be an obsession. In my practice, I start writing in a notebook, the ideas, and planning as much as the story (first draft). Step by step I capture the written by hand on my computer (yes, sometimes I do write directly on the screen without the notebook), and on the way, I review, correct, and edit the captured (second draft). Once I have advanced a few parts I read at loud to hear, and sense the story and on the task, I do as many changes as the story needs (third draft). Once I finish the work I do the last reading at loud without annotations and after that I let the text (book, article, story, poem, whatever) rest for a while. During the pause I think remembering what I didn't feel good about when reading, sometimes (if possible) I share the draft or the part I am not sure to somebody to criticize my work and get feedback. Then I review and modify, edit and correct just the necessary and nothing else (fourth and last draft). Maybe if I had an agent and editor, they sure would change little more things before publishing, but since I do auto-publish, the last word is mine no matter what. Making mistakes, at last, is a valid way to write too.

[@marahsoore6452]

This is such a good video! I just got 'The Stars We Steal' from my preorder and after I finish my other book it's been bumped up to the next book on my TBR shelf!

[@DreamsOfFire]

I love your videos! They always make me feel so motivated. You are so right! Finishing that first draft is the most important thing! Can't have other drafts if there isn't a first!:) (And now I really need to finish this first draft I'm working on!!!) Thank you for sharing your wonderful advice!:)

[@SysterYster]

To totally re-write an entire book from scratch would suck, and that would kill my joy with it. That said, I'm not afraid to edit, to correct, to move things, to rewrite parts, add and remove things/scenes/characters. That's sometimes needed. But I don't think a total re-write is something editors ask for very often. If writers do that, I'd believe it's because the writer decided to do that themselves. For some reason.

[@la1495]

I'm writing my first novel (SO HARD!!!!!) and I have to confess #1 is so true for me! I"m learning to skip around and even write generic descriptions or dialogue just to keep going. You can always polish up in edits so you don't have to think of brilliant things in the first go. Trying to do so slows the process down too much.

[@julietfischer5056]

The first draft is to get the story down. That can tell you if your story will work as you envision it. Then subsequent drafts polish and revise until the story is as good as you can get it.

[@dcle944]

I think there is a difference between not knowing how to write and incomplete writing. Incomplete writing means you don’t have full details of your story, so you have to go back, fill the blank, add or remove details, and polish your sentences. Not knowing how to write is that even when you have all the details, your story is still boring as heck to read. The first group would have a draft. The second group just has hundreds of pages of junk. We need to know who we are, so we can train and get better. Just by saying everyone is different, we’re not helping those who need help.

[@caitlynblake2773]

I am teeeeeerrible for editing as I write, because I’m embarrassed to pass it off to friends and critique partners with it looking like an absolute mess. I’ve started marking certain phrases and paragraphs in different colours so I know back to work on them later, and leaving margin notes for myself... but almost to also tell people “I KNOW! I know this is bad, it’s not there yet”. But good God does it take me a long time to write. I need to learn to let go.

[@imygurl08]

What I try to do is write the rough draft straight through and then do one round of developmental edits before passing off to beta readers. That way I actually get a draft out and still get to turn in something that isn't too messy.

[@Someone-fn3ij]

loool i used to believe 3. my book got much better when I realized what I actually needed to flesh out secondary characters (ie giving them subplots, goals, motivations... lives of their own lol)

[@leet47]

Came for the advice, stayed for the eye shadow. Your best video so far imo.

[@cadengrace5466]

Something that helped me in drafting was that I had this idea in my head that I had to draft it all in one sitting. Not sure how it is possible to pump out that many words at one time. So I became a hybrid writer. I draw out all of my arcs for the book plot, series plot, the villain, hero, villain seconds, hero seconds, and then the filler gang. Then I design my chapters and chop them into 2 or 3 sections. Once I have the skeleton of the story, I can go pants the actual story in each chapter or even just a section. So after this organization it is now bite-size hurdles and I stay motivated. When I get into editing, those chapter and sections now become puzzle pieces that I can move around. My hardest part is realizing when I need to stop editing.

[@danieljaygrossett-author]

Great video with great advice for new writers once again. Thank you

[@PriscilaQuin]

Jesus, i NEEDED tô learn about this topic so much!! Thank you!!!

[@Afterthoughts]

I have so many misconceptions about giraffes. And don't get me started on giraffeting.

[@elizalagonia1049]

One misconception I find is that your 1st draft is your literal first draft of the book. The first draft means, hopefully, it's good for beta readers. I call it my rough draft. I don't call it a zero draft because I outline. At that point, I do a cosmetic pass. Catch some grammar mistakes, take out some scenes, clean up some scenes. I kill a few darlings, but I don't massacre my darlings like I would in my 1st draft. This was interesting.

[@livforbooks]

Making the first draft of my fantasy story barely even readable was the worst decision I ever made

[@PerksofaBookflower]

Thank you, Alexa! This is the video I needed, and you addressed all my misconceptions and more. ♥️

[@AlexaDonne]

I'm so glad you liked it! Such a great video idea 😀

[@DavidinMiami]

I'm working on my first novel (about 20,000 words, so far), and I'm finding that the only way I can actually make it happen is if I write-edit-write-edit, almost ad infinitum. I'll write two or three paragraphs, or perhaps a short chapter, and I'll refuse to proceed beyond it until I have revised what I have just written-and I don't mean simply copy editing. It's like a potter and clay: spin, shape, smash, build, crush, squeeze, expand, twist, tighten, extend, break, and rebuild. And then you write chapter two! (And you wouldn't believe how many times I edited what I just wrote here. Well, kinda, sorta, but you get the picture.)

[@michita7838]

That's what I do 😵 but it makes the process slow.

[@DavidinMiami]

@@michita7838, I know, but keep working on it. Wow, I'm at 72,188 words now!!!

[@frantic9724]

I haven’t been this early since I was born prematurely

[@sjappie5034]

Hi Alexa. Thank you for this great video. I found your channel yesterday, and I'm subscribed. I'm on a break right now and using my time to write my first novel - it's such a great experience, except I can't remember to go eat or sleep. Thank you for the helpful advice and tips.

[@lisamucke3275]

One misconseption for me was that there are general rules for writing and that if I apply them, I'll be fine. Well, I did a lot of shortening (everybody tells you at least here in Germany) until now I have so much plot and twists and perspectives, that I have to kill a lot of my darlings. And it hurts.

[@milomazli]

This was soooooo useful! thank you!!

[@crystalrainbow19]

You are so brilliant and have helped me so much. Thank you 😊

[@skyler3209]

This video was very nice and supportive! Makes me feel a little better about my own writing. Kind of off topic, but I'm wondering if I had an advance reader copy of a book and want to reread the book, should I buy the completed one because any small issues could have been fixed? Or is it not really worth it? Thanks!