Mark Henrikson's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-process-second-draft"
Writing Process – Second Draft
Which do you think is harder to write the first draft or second draft of a novel? For me it is not even close, the second draft is by far the most difficult. The first draft can have sloppy descriptions, hollow dialogue, and plot inconsistencies as long as the general idea gets across. The second draft is where it all needs to come together and tell a cohesive story.
The first task for me is always to bring the multiple storylines together. This is tough because if you have say three storylines, it does not always go 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. Sometimes one plotline may have a large passage of time, say a transcontinental plane ride, so you place four or five chapters from other stories in there so the passage of time feels natural to the reader. Maybe a sequence ended with a cliffhanger. Do you get to it right away, or keep the reader in suspense for a few chapters? A lot of times chapter ordering is just as important to suspense as the actual writing.
Next I work to resolve any fork in the road decisions that still need to be made. You either turn left or right, and there is no in between. Make the choice and ripple any plot changes needed in the rest of the book. I also go back through and search for any text I have contained within [] which serve as notes to myself and address the thought.
Then I begin reading the story from start to finish as I intend the reader to experience it. I pay special attention to chapter transitions. A lot of times a paragraph or two will need to be added at the start or end of a chapter to pull the reader into the situation since they haven’t seen the storyline for a few chapters.
I also try my best to find any inconsistencies. Maybe your character is a Captain in the army in one chapter but you call him a Major in another. Unless there was a promotion in there, you need to fix this. In combat and action sequences I know I always have a hard time keeping straight how many good and bad guys are involved. If there are 5 bad guys, make sure all 5 are accounted for in the body, get away or arrest count.
Next up: Show Don’t Tell
The first task for me is always to bring the multiple storylines together. This is tough because if you have say three storylines, it does not always go 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. Sometimes one plotline may have a large passage of time, say a transcontinental plane ride, so you place four or five chapters from other stories in there so the passage of time feels natural to the reader. Maybe a sequence ended with a cliffhanger. Do you get to it right away, or keep the reader in suspense for a few chapters? A lot of times chapter ordering is just as important to suspense as the actual writing.
Next I work to resolve any fork in the road decisions that still need to be made. You either turn left or right, and there is no in between. Make the choice and ripple any plot changes needed in the rest of the book. I also go back through and search for any text I have contained within [] which serve as notes to myself and address the thought.
Then I begin reading the story from start to finish as I intend the reader to experience it. I pay special attention to chapter transitions. A lot of times a paragraph or two will need to be added at the start or end of a chapter to pull the reader into the situation since they haven’t seen the storyline for a few chapters.
I also try my best to find any inconsistencies. Maybe your character is a Captain in the army in one chapter but you call him a Major in another. Unless there was a promotion in there, you need to fix this. In combat and action sequences I know I always have a hard time keeping straight how many good and bad guys are involved. If there are 5 bad guys, make sure all 5 are accounted for in the body, get away or arrest count.
Next up: Show Don’t Tell
