S. M. Boyce’s Critique and Editing process—Part I: Writing Draft One

This is part of my Indie How-To Index , which is a complete guide on everything from writing to marketing your novel. I designed the Indie Index to help authors on the road to being published. It’s totally free, so all I ask is that you have fun, learn something, and add to the discussion.

Update: Wow. So this was originally just going to be one post…that turned into an 8-pageWord document. So I’m going to break it apart for everyone’s sanity. This will be a three-part post, broken apart into writing draft one, editing, and the finishing touches. A TOC is at the end of the post with links to all parts.

 

Okay, so I’m going to start this out with that terrible phrase you don’t want to hear:

This process is different for everyone.

I’m going to talk about the process I personally go through because it’s what I know. Feel free to talk about your process in the comments, since I love hearing how people use different methods to achieve the same goal.

Oh, and make sure you read my post on creating a marketing plan before you sit down to write your book. You’ll see why. Also, read this whole post before you start writing if you’re using it as a guide.

Write an Outline

I am big on outlines. I wrote Lichgates (Grimoire Trilogy #1) from an outline and learned what I was doing right and wrong. I wrote out the full outline for Treason (Grimoire Trilogy #2) before I sat down to write a word of it. I will do the same thing for the last book in the series, Heritage (Grimoire Trilogy #3), and for each of the subsequent novellas. I actually already have a good chunk of the third book’s outline done, but I will have to change bits as I change Treason’s plot.

I need direction when I write. Some people (like Stephen King) free-form, but I just ramble when I do that. I want to know where I’m going so that I can add in foreshadowing, hints, secrets, and easter eggs for readers. That’s what I do, and my writing style is based on that outline.

[box]Without an outline, the process below will seem like wasted time because you’re still discovering too much of your story.[/box]

A popular way to look at novel writing is to compare it to building a house.  What does it take to build a house? Do you do it all at once, throwing the frame up right before you add the hardwood floors and picture frames? No. You build in stages. A helpful writing technique, then, is to build your novel in layers. The outline is your blueprint, or the plans of the house. You don’t want to get started unless you know what sort of house you’re building.

Who Gets to See the Outline?

Stephen King mentions writing “for” someone in his novel On Writing. What he means is, when you write, you should unconsciously have one person in mind as your target audience. You write what you think they’ll like and look for their reaction when they read a funny or scary part.

I actually write for two people: my husband and my father. They’re like two sides of a coin—their ideas complement each other and their feedback helps me to create the most balanced story I can. They are both in my target audience—the people I think will best like my book. But I also chose them because they will tell me if something sucks. Every author needs someone who will look them in the eye and say, “C’mon, really?”

Those who critique and edit your novel must be able to point out both the good and the bad. Otherwise, there’s no point. Your manuscript will not be flawless, even for all the effort you put into it before anyone even saw it.

So when I finish my outline, I give it to the people I write for. I want to see if the direction I’m taking is as awesome as I think it is. We walk through the bullet points, and this is my chance to run concepts and major plot points by them, who will also read and critique various drafts of the novel later.

You don’t have to share your outline like this, and some people even recommend you don’t. There’s an argument that showing your story to people will deplete its draw, making you bored with it faster. The idea is the more you talk about your story, the more bored you become with it. I can see that argument. I also don’t agree. But that’s me.

In my case, I like having my husband and my dad help me work out the kinks and motivations in the story. Yes, that means they know what’s going to happen for the most part before they read. Some things will be a surprise to them when I go off-outline, but for the most part they will have full knowledge of the story beforehand. I think this is okay because it will tell me if I got my point across. Of course, it’s not a failsafe, and that’s why there are multiple layers of editing with multiple editors and readers. More on that later.

Draft One

Ah, draft one. This is where you turn a blank Word document into a story. There are a few details to remember here that will make this process easier.

Stephen King says in On Writing to make the draft one writing process a “closed door” endeavor. I agree with this completely. Don’t think about how the general public will react to something. Don’t question the dialogue too much. Curse. Do whatever you think is natural for the characters.

The point is to get your idea on paper in all its tacky, cliché, first-draft glory. It’s okay. It’ll improve! That’s what editing is for. In the meantime, don’t fret over whether or not a line sounds bad. Write it and move on. In the infamous words of Hemmingway:

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I barely even focus on the setting in draft one. Sometimes, I say they’re in a place or walking towards a room, and that’s it. As long as I know where they are, I can add the frilly lace later.

To me, draft one is the skeleton—the bare bones that introduce me to the grander story. It sets up location, intent, and movement. I establish locations and characters, build the beginnings of relationships and tension, and all around lay out the groundwork for the novel.

In the house-building metaphor, this is where you lay the foundation before you dive into the meat of the details. Lay the cement and build the house’s frame before you try to install the windows.

That said, your first draft will suck. Professionally, I mean. It’ll be amazing to finish, but don’t you dare publish it yet. Don’t show anyone yet, either. It’s not at all publishable. There will be plot holes, inconsistencies, awkward dialogue, ineffective descriptions, and more. That’s the point, though. It’s a start, and it’s one of the hardest parts of the writing process (note: I said one of the hardest parts).

So once you finish with draft one, pat yourself on the back and take a day off. Drink something with bubbles or tannins. You’ll need your energy for what’s coming next.

*bum bum bum*

 

Depth Editing

There isn’t really a formal name for this stage because I kind of made it up. I guess you could call it revising, but I like my term better. So thhhbbbt.

At this point, you still haven’t shown anyone your manuscript. It’s in its baby framework stage. Once you finish draft one—once all of the chapters are written, the characters established, and the plot written out—you move on to fix up the plot holes. This is your chance to fix errors, inconsistencies, and dialogue before anyone else points them out. Is someone magically drinking chocolate milk, even though it was never mentioned that they poured themselves a glass? This is where you can polish, fix, and clean up the framework before moving on to clean it up.

In keeping with our house metaphor, you’re putting up the drywall. Install the windows and doors—they still have the plastic and labels on them, but at least they’re in the house.

 
Table of Contents

Writing Draft One
Editing and Revisions
Preparing for the Release