This past month I've been working furiously to finish the last edits of my book before I hit query land. Hence the absence here.I finished my major edits and now I'm on my last read through. I've managed to cut my word count from 70,000 to 66,000, which really seems like a lot of words. In total, from the first draft of this book to now, I've cut 34,000 words, which is almost a whole book. Obviously I wrote too much the first time through.
For my second book, I wrote slim with the first draft coming in at just over 50,000 words, but now when I reach chapters that I didn't write very much for I feel like I'm writing the first draft again.
This begs the question: Do you write your first drafts to add or do you write your first drafts to subtract?
I'm beginning to wonder which one is better.
BTW - congrats to Elana Johnson on her book Posession which comes out today. So excited to read this one.
14 comments:
I definitely write way too much in the first draft. Redundancies are all over the place. By the time I'm done revising, I usually cut anywhere from 10K to 20K.
So excited for you as you get ready to query!!
I end up doing both! I subtract and I add! But usually I end up with around the same word count or more than my first draft b/c my nature I underwrite. So I need to flesh out scenes and emotion.
The first draft has everything in it, including the kitchen sink, so I'm always subtracting at the end.
I write my first draft to add. I spend a lot of time thinking of the perfect word to go in the perfect spot, so if I can spew everything down and then go back...it's just so much better for me. =)
I usually write my first draft to add. I like adding more depth to conversations and action when I'm editing. :)
Congrats on finishing edits!! :D
Well congrats on cutting down and finishing edits! That's awesome!
I really don't know...my word target is always around 100,000. First drafts are kind of a "spewing" on the page session, and second drafts are more cleaning up the mess. ;-)
I don't really write specifically one way or the other - it usually depends on the project and it's an unconscious thing. BUT, I do tend to find it easier to cut than add during the editing stage, personally.
Congrats on finishing your major edits! That's exciting!
My first book, I definitely underwrote. This one, I think it's going to be way too long for middle grade. I read the first two chapters of Possession. Looks good:)
Funny, that's exactly what I did! It's a hard call which is harder. Filling in the holes isn't easy, but neither is cutting out the fat.
But if I had to choose, I'd go with adding later.
Good luck on the querying to come!
And me? I add AND subtract. But mainly add...
For instance, the first draft of my new ms, a contemp. YA, was 23k--it was more like an outline.
I deleted some scenes, and then fleshed out. Deleted some sentences, for subtlety, and then the latest draft is 48k. :)
I write a lot of fluff in the first draft that has to be slashed, but it's important to get it on the pages first. It can always be tighter! It's not like I write 100K novels that have to be whittled to 80K though. ;o)
I definitely underwrite. It's more of a skeleton really that I flesh out in edits. It keeps my momentum up if I don't have to worry about their actions as much as what they're saying.
Wow - I've been gone so long you went and redid your blog design on me! :) Lookin' good there, Patti!
I have no idea what I do on the first draft. nothing intentional, for sure. I struggle just to get the story out.
I always thought I wrote really lean because I always have to go back and fill in details. But I've discovered that leaving out some details doesn't mean there isn't lots of other stuff in what I wrote to cut out.
So I end up doing both. A little adding. A lot of cutting.
Pretty much, I'm a mess. :)
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