Most writers know that the first draft of their manuscript will never sell, but how many drafts does a writer have to write?
Honestly, the writing portion of a novel takes the shortest amount of time. The research and/or revising will likely (and should likely) take up 75% or more of the process. Depending on how you prefer to spend your time (research or revision), you’ll have different numbers of drafts (though the first draft will never be your final). And regardless of which method you prefer, you’ll have to invest time to create an engaging, readable story.
Write type of writer are you? Here’s a quick quiz:
- Would you rather:
- Plan every detail of your trip before you leave so you maximize the experience and don’t miss anything?
- Hop on the plane and see what happens, even if it means you miss a few things?
- When buying clothes, do you:
- Try things on in the store to make sure you know how everything looks and feels, then buy only what you need?
- Buy arms full of things to try on at home and return what you don’t want later?
- Before going to a new restaurant, do you:
- Find the restaurant and menu online so you know what to order when you get there?
- Maybe you’ll scan the menu online, but you don’t make any decisions until you’re in your seat and everyone else has ordered?
If you answered A to most of those, you’re probably a researcher. If you answered B, you’re probably a reviser.
Researcher
Researchers like to know all the details before they start writing their stories. They have notes on:
- Characters, include goals, motivations, conflicts; appearance; character arc.
- They know their stories transitional moments (inciting incident, breaking point, point of no return, etc.).
- They’ve calculated where in the story each main plot point and reaction should occur.
- They’ve tracked the setting, including building details, topographical information, and historical events (if needed).
- They have binders or folders full of notes on all of these details.
By the time a researcher sits down to write, they know almost everything they need to know about the story. They’ve spent weeks (or months) writing things down and organizing them before they ever type the first word of their manuscripts.
Reviser
Revisers tend to start with a solid understanding of either their plot or characters, but most of the details have yet to be discovered. Sometimes called seat-of-the-pants writers, they do minimal prep work before writing (usually a few days or maybe a week or two). Their process is more trial-and-error: if something doesn’t work, edit out and try something different.
Revisers (as you might imagine) spend more time revising their manuscripts. It may take 1-2 (or three or four) big revisions before they’re ready to let anyone read or critique their manuscripts.
Neither of these paths is right or wrong. Neither one yields better results than the other. They’re just different. Don’t get discouraged if your best friend is a researcher and only needs to edit her story instead of revising it. That method works for her; your method works for you.
Not sure which type of writer you are? Email me at karin@writenowedits.com and we’ll figure it out!
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