Revising, drafting - what's the difference? Is there one?

[mary_j_59]

Hi, everyone! I've been thinking about this for a while, having been puzzled by people saying they loved revising more than writing first drafts, or vice versa. Then, thanks to Jon Gibbs, who linked to a post by Laura Resnick, I stumbled across Dean Smith's "Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing". Interesting stuff! If you haven't seen it, I do recommend that you take a look. Mr. Smith's blog is here: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?page_id=860

Before I read his blog, I was a big believer in rewriting, even though I didn't seem to do much of it. Or rather, I did (and do), but I tended to revise as I wrote. Then I would read the whole story/essay/piece through to correct for language and coherence. Once in a rare while, I would have to do more - I'd have to tear something apart and put it together again. That was never much fun to me (memories of grad school!) and I couldn't understand LJ friends who raved about how fulfilling it was. ;)

Then, just recently, after thinking long and hard about my novel, I decided I would lose the secondary villain and give all his lines and actions to the primary villain. It wasn't a struggle at all. On the contrary, it was just as easy and pleasant as writing the first draft. And, once it was done, I found that I'd shifted the story in some very interesting ways. The stakes became much higher for my protagonist. It felt as though I'd given a kaleidoscope a very slight twist and watched a picture fall into place. Needless to say, that can only have helped the story.

So yes, I believe in revising! And I now see that it can be just as much fun as drafting. But that's the thing - true revision, to me, feels like exactly the same process as drafting. You are just going deeper into your story and making the truth of that story clearer. It doesn't feel any different from writing the first draft, because it's still all about discovery.

Which is what Mr. Smith means when he talks about writing from the creative mind, rather than the critical mind. If you read his posts carefully, you'll note that he's not saying you should never revise. He is saying that, when you revise, you must take care to do it from the creative mindset. I'd add that you must also take care to immerse yourself in the world of your story. Then just let the words flow, as you do when you're writing a first draft.
What you come up with might surprise you.

What do you think? Do you think you are in the same mindset when writing first drafts and revising, or do you need to think differently about these two parts of the writing process? Do you like one stage more than the other? If so, why?

Comments

[arkan2.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link, looks like some very interesting reading.

And actually, I find the writing process itself difficult, and rewriting as well if I decide a scene needs changing around (which is fairly often).

Several times, I've deliberately left plot holes, info dumps, and other awkward/inappropriate material in place in the interests of time, with the understanding that I'll come back and fix it later in the rewrite.

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Yes. I used to find writing a lot more difficult than I do now. There are still times when I feel stuck - but that, I think, is because I don't yet know enough about the story. It doesn't do, I find, to force it - if you do, you will most assuredly have to rewrite. But, if you go on to another scene and write that, you may be able to go back and tackle the scene that you were stuck in. At least, it sometimes helps me.

I'm inclined to take what Mr. Smith says with a pinch of salt, except for two things: you do need to trust the process, and the creative mind. And everyone is different, and will have a somewhat different process. Oh, and a third thing. Writing should be fun!

That's what I gained from the site. I don't agree with everything else there, but I do agree strongly with those three ideas.

[arkan2.livejournal.com]

Often with me, I'll get stuck because I don't know what to do with the plot: I know where I want the story to end up, but I can't work out how to get it there. I've got at least one story in long-term storage for that reason.

More often, though, I'll get hung up over a detail in the scene I'm working on. Usually I go away for a bit (say, a day or two) come back, write a couple paragraphs ... and run up against another difficult detail.

Not really sure what to do about this, other than keep writing and hope it gets easier.

I haven't read a whole lot from Mr. Smith's website yet, and most of what I have read I skimmed. I agree with the points you raise, and I also find that a lot of what he says challenges some pretty ingrained notions I have. Whether I ultimately agree with him or not, I think it's really helpful to have them challenged like that.

[ravencorbie (from livejournal.com)]

I've decided to stop rewriting/revising for awhile and see how it works out. That's odd, since I've never really revised or rewritten much of anything. I've revised my fan fiction, but I've only started revisions on my longer or original work.

One thing I like about Dean Wesley Smith is that he says to take even his ideas with thought, and not to just simply adopt them. I like trying new things, so I'll try it out and see how it works. If I'm better off revising, I'll return to it.

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Yes - I like that he tells people not to simply do as he says. And I do think revision is necessary, but, to me, the question is how you revise. Much of my revision, before this year, had come from my critical brain. That's often necessary, but you have to be careful.It's really easy to overdo it and lose the flow of your work. As I wrote more (starting with my fanfic about five years ago), I found myself revising less. Then I found myself - just recently, in my YA novel - revising from the creative mind, and it was wonderful!

Another thing that rings true to me in what he says is to redraft, rather than to revise. Cynthia Leitich Smith does the same thing - and I stumbled on this process without even knowing it was a process. But, if you're stuck on something and don't know how to fix it, it can really help to put it aside, move on to something else, and then come back to it and rewrite without looking at the earlier draft.