#second drafts

It's a day with the possibility of answering asks! How do you approach a second draft? What are the parameters you're looking to fill this time? How much is editing and how much is rewriting?

Hi Sleepy!

Second drafts for me are usually about structure. I tend to throw things at the wall until I'm satisfied the first time around lol so moving some things around, introducing new scenes to support the plot points I like, eliminating things that I might have liked but just don't work. Stuff like that. But even with that, I usually end up rewriting more than editing in the second draft. If I'm introducing new scenes and eliminating some others I prefer to rewrite the draft as I go so that it still looks cohesive overall. The actual editing I tend to save for more final drafts lol

It's a day with the possibility of answering asks! How do you approach a second draft? What are the parameters you're looking to fill this time? How much is editing and how much is rewriting?

Hi Sleepy!!! Thanks for the ask!

Unfortunately, I've literally never made it to the second draft of a long-term project.

When I was writing ATQH (all out of order) I would occasionally re-write scenes from memory (open a new doc and just rewrite based on what I remembered of the plot of the scene). This would usually let me keep the parts I liked and replace the parts I didn't like.

When it comes to my D&D OC Vignettes (my only recent writing for the past 2-ish years), I usually just go back and edit the parts I don't like / don't fully vibe with.

If there's big chunks I don't like, or I'm stuck halfway through, then I'll do some rewriting to figure out the areas where I'm stuck and hopefully be able to move forwards.

But all of this only goes for very short pieces (less than 10k), and never for anything that I'm planning on doing anything serious with.

This might sound like a weird ask, but I don't know how to write the second(or more) draft. I've heard some advice about rewriting and not editing, but every time I try to write the second draft, I just end up copying the first one, with very few differences.

So my question is, what is your way of writing the second draft and if you have any advice on that? I know some things that work for some don't work for others, but I just can't seem to find the right way.

Oh, second drafts. Only the most difficult writing step after drafting, followed by the most difficult step of writing the third draft.

The good news is that almost no one pulls together their story on the second draft. If your first draft is putting down the bones of the story, the second is figuring out where to lay the connective tissue. Maybe you've got too many bones, maybe you don't have enough. Maybe some of your bones are too short, or too misshapen to work. The second draft is getting that story skeleton together, knowing full well you're gonna need to fix some of those bones first.

Get yourself a plan to put that skeleton together - make an outline. I swear I'm not the sworn enemy of pantsers that i sometimes seem to be (it's professional jealousy, I swear), but if you don't have an outline, now is the time to get one. If you do, go back and revise that first. You'll want to know what you want the story to become from the pile of bones you're working from.

Not enough bones - identify what you're missing. If you're like me, sometimes while drafting you write 'figure this shit out later' and then forget to do so. Thanks for nothing, Past Me. But chances are your story needs some added scenes, more character development, etc. Identifying those missing pieces and fleshing out your outline can help you tackle a second draft.

Too many bones - figure out what needs to be cut. Not every scene is going to be worth keeping no matter how attached to them you are. If you're on the fence about a scene, consider if it serves to move the plot forward, develops the characters, or establishes important worldbuilding. If the scene meanders plotlessly, repeats character beats instead of expanding on them, or seems to suck the oxygen out of the story, you may have to rethink or remove them.

These bones don't fit - figure out what scenes are lacking. Another thing I tend to do in first drafts is sell my scenes short. I just don't think of the best outcome, the most dramatic climax, or a great setting when I'm trying to figure out what happens. In going through your novel, think about each scene carefully. Should this argument take place in a deserted library, or would it be more emotional and dramatic on a crowded train? If the villain's plot seems small, how can you make him a greater threat?

Uuuh bro that's not a human bone - revising scenes that went off the rails. If you're gearing up for NaNoWriMo yet again, you might know the feeling of writing pages of bullshit to make that wordcount. It could be good bullshit! It could be really fun! But if it sticks out like a sore thumb in the story, it may be best to set aside to figure out what to make out of it later.

Writing Tip

The joy of editing can be discovered in finding new and better ways to say things you thought you had already said.

I always thought that I hated editing. That I hated second drafts. It turns out that I always moved from project to project so fast that I never really had the chance to sit down and work on a second draft. Well, I am now entrenched deeper in a second draft project than I have ever been before, and I have learned that, to my surprise . . . I actually really enjoy the editing phase! I am enjoying writing my second draft!

My disdain from editing as a younger writer always stemmed from pride and perfectionism. I didn’t like the idea of second drafts because I wanted to put the time and thought and care and creativity into saying it the right way from the very beginning. It turns out that even with such agony, a rough draft is never anything more than a rough draft.

In the years since, my opinions on “shitty first drafts” have reversed. My battles with writer’s block have convinced me that the only way to finish most drafts is to just put SOMETHING down until you reach the end, no matter how bad it is, and then suck it up and edit later. And let me tell you . . . I have had more fun editing my first draft and creating my second draft than I ever expected. And it’s because of this writing tip I am sharing today.

do yall not rewrite the entire book for the 2nd draft??? is that just me???

to clarify: i mean i set up a new doc, have the 1st draft open for reference, and completely redo the book. Some scenes just have a few little word changes, but usually like 70% of it is reworded or replotted. And regardless of how much i change, i physically write a new copy of all of it.

this went into my drafts with the idea that i would work on it next weekend, but,,, it has since been several months’ worth of weekends, and i’m only just getting to it 😅

Starting Second Drafts  

For me, the second draft is less about editing what I’ve written, and more about refining what happens. You’ll probably find your own way of working as you redraft more of your stories, but here’s six key points that have really helped me: 

1) PRINT IT OUT & CHANGE IT UP

(I’m assuming here you’ve typed your first draft; if you wrote it longhand, ignorethese next two paragraphs)

Most of writing is just playing mind games with yourself, and there’s nobetter way to do this than change the font and/or text colour from one draft to the next. It gives your writing a new look and tricks your brain into paying attention again, which helps when you’re reading through the first draft and deciding what’s going to happen to it.

Printing it out is a large part of this – having your story in a different format lets you look at it from a different angle, both literally and figuratively. It alsomeans you can make notes and cross out chunks directly on paper, which is avery satisfying process (and as writers, we need to take our satisfaction wherewe can!).

Once you finish your first draft, the story still isn’t completed. You still have to go through and edit it and write several drafts before it’s ready to send to publishers, and even then you’ll have to go through several rounds of editing before it’s ready to be published.

To start, let’s discuss the difference between editing and drafts, because to be honest, I didn’t know until I did my research.

Editing is more just making smaller changes (such as grammar, switching around sentences, word choice, etc).

Drafts are more for enhancing your writing and making it a lot more detailed than the first draft. You’re also making sure all of the details are there and you’re not missing any vital information. It’s like serious rewrites.

When reading through your first draft, it’s very important that you’re just making notes of what you’re going to include in the story and not editing as you go. The notes should include what you’re going to keep, change, or delete and why you decided to make that choice, big twists you want to make, how to make the *word, phrase, paragraph, scene, chapter* better if you’re going to change it, rearranging entire paragraphs, etc. Make sure everything is kept on track for a smooth draft!

You should also take note of the bigger things you want to change (like adding in a plot twist or taking it out, changing character personalities, deaths, etc.)

While you’re revising, you should start with the big things first. If there was a problem that you got rid of, think of what you can fill that missing space with instead. For the reverse, consider what the prolem is and see how quickly you can make the solution occur and what the solution even should be.

While you’re writing the second, third and so forth drafts, you might realize that you either focused too little or too much on your subplots. They’re really important to have so that you’re not solely focusing on one thing, that makes for a very boring story, but you also don’t want too many because then things get really crazy and it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on. As you’re working through your drafts, you can add them in or remove them if they’re irrelevant, but make sure you have at least two subplots. You want subplots for character development, but don’t have subplots for the sake of subplots.

During the multi draft writing process, you may notice you’ll have to have to change the plot or even rearrange some scenes. Don’t be worried if the story as a whole changes entirely. That’s just part of the revisions process. As long as you’re happy with the outcome and it makes sense, then it’s good.

It’s going to take time to do, but you’ll end up with something you’re proud of and want to get published, so don’t give up on it! Once you’re at that point, it’ll all be worth it. Remember that the second draft may not be complete either, so just be prepared for multiple rounds of changes.