a question
I finally read King’s On Writing, and I have to say I took a ton away from it. So much so that I’m in the process of rereading it.
I keep going back to his idea of writing (at least) two drafts - the one with the door closed (the All-story draft) and the one with the door open (when you reread and let it out to be read by your ideal readers.) And this recommendation he makes scares me even though I completely understand the rational:
This first draft - the All-Story draft - should be written with no help (or interference) from anyone else. There may come a point where you want to show what you’re doing to a close friend…either because you’re proud of what you’re doing or because you’re doubtful about it. My best advice is to resist this impulse. Keep the pressure on; don’t lower it by exposing what you’ve written to the doubt, the praise, or even the well-meaning questions of someone from the outside world. Let your hope of success (and fear of failure) carry you on, difficult as that can be.
Do any of you do this? I know I used to when I first started and didn’t want to show anybody my stuff. But then I found crit groups and crit partners and the chapter by chapter was a given. And then I pulled back a little because of time constraints, and now, when I show crit partners stuff, it’s usually in larger chunks but always before the book’s finished. I’m not sure I’d be able to get through an entire draft without giving someone a peek.
If you do work like this, getting through an entire draft without showing anyone, I’d love to hear why you think it works for you.
Oh - and I put the question into poll form on the sidebar, cause I’m loving the WP plugins, but I’d love the details of why and how too.
Steph T.
April 15th, 2005 at 3:40 pm
Loved, loved, loved, On Writing. I only have one critique partner, though there are a couple others who read my manuscripts when they’re done. My CP used to read each my chapters by chapter, but it’s been a while since she’d done that. She hasn’t read my work in a while, but we talk about ideas and problems and the story throughout the entire process of conception to completion. I’d vote on your poll, but none of these seem to apply completely. I don’t have a closed door draft because I’m talking my way through it with my CP. It’s more like a window. Closed, but clear.
April 15th, 2005 at 3:48 pm
*waves to Renee* I like the ‘closed but clear’ line of thinking:wink: Thanks for sharing - I love finding out other people’s process.
April 15th, 2005 at 4:18 pm
Haven’t read “On Writing” but I do have critique partners, and I almost never sub chapter by chapter anymore. Not to say I’ve never done it, but I’m confident enough in my writing abilities and the direction I’m going to write the first draft or as much of one as possible before getting feedback.
I don’t like subbing too soon because if there IS a problem, it is likely to put a complete halt to the creative process. I’ll stop and ponder the “issue” instead of writing the rest of the story. Now you might say, but if there’s a problem, it’s better to know now rather than later, but in my book, it’s still much easier to revise a finished ms than it is to finish the first draft.
And *usually* any problems are small, and if drawn attention to are merely distracting, and I need all the help I can get to finish the damn thing.
The few times I HAVE subbed before finishing the ms, and this may sound odd, but when I receive a critique back, I shuttle to a folder where I save them all without reading it. I collect them and then when I’m finished with the story, I go back and open them.
April 15th, 2005 at 4:28 pm
When I first started I NEVER shared with anyone. Then I decided I neede a cp, and then I had three of them! Then my confidence went downhill, and Now I feel like I need my cp’s approval before I continue. It’s not them, it’s me. I’ve lost my own confidence somwhere. I think getting back to not letting them see it until the first draft is complete is something I need to do. For my own sanity!
Thanks for the reminder.
April 15th, 2005 at 5:10 pm
Well, I took your poll, but I do a combination of things.
I used to sub every chapter, needing feedback from each one as I went. And at the time I probably needed to do it that way. Now I find that it slows things down and stifles me.
So what I do is sub my first 2-3 chapters just to make sure I’m on track, I sub my synopsis, and then I write the rest of the book. Only when it’s done do I let anyone see it–and at that point, I want more of a general crit than nitpicking!
Oh, and I wanna borrow this guy for a while:
*g*
April 16th, 2005 at 3:18 am
I have several CP’s, and I benefitted from it greatly. But usually I write the book first, and then e-mail the chaps out. Great post.
April 16th, 2005 at 9:24 am
I used to do each chapter then found I worred so much about the crits that it slowed my progress down–having the WRONG CP’s didn’t help. Now usually I just write straight through, which means my poor cp’s get chapter by chapter but in a short timespan.
I have let them read the beginning of the new WIP because I’m contesting with it and also because I knew I had a problem early on and it’s stopped me. Of course, that problem could be more of a lack of motivation on MY part rather than theirs
April 16th, 2005 at 2:04 pm
I used to do chapter by chapter, but then I realized that for the most part I was getting ‘grammar’ type crits. I do a lot of thinking/planning re characters/plot, so I think that’s why I wasn’t getting a lot of comments on those elements (in the sense that things needed fixing). Then I got less careless with the grammar stuff, and found the grammar comments had more to do with style–ie I’d used a comma, the cp would suggest a emdash– rather than being wrong. But I did find that I’d sometimes let my cps’ discomfort with some elements of a character/plot influence/bug me. And I’m anal about revising as I go and have come to a complete stop many times, to go back and change stuff, leaving the cps hanging for weeks/months. So now I’ve decided to finish the first draft without outside commentary/influences, then send the ms out in chunks as I do the final edits.
April 16th, 2005 at 6:52 pm
I’ve actually just realized that this is what I have to do (somewhat from my re-reading of On Writing). My first draft is the “Everything but the Kitchen Sink Draft.” I usually have way TMI, and plot threads are sketchy - if existant at all.
Once the first draft is down, I can make the changes needed, and then I start to send to my CP’s a chapter at a time.
Emily
April 17th, 2005 at 4:36 am
I do chapter by chapter and once it’s done I don’t go back to it again, I just submit. It took me a year and a half to get to that point, I used to obsess. Now I just try to pay closer attention the first time I write and trust my cps to catch what I miss.
I don’t know what this new process is doing for my writing, but mentally and emotionally, it’s much less draining. 
April 18th, 2005 at 1:00 pm
Thanks guys!! I love seeing everyone’s process:grin: