If you’ve been following my Instagram stories, then you’ve probably already heard. I FINISHED MY ROUGH DRAFT! What?! It’s crazy exciting whenever you hit a milestone. Yeah, it’s messy and needs serious work. You can’t start editing until you have words, just like you can’t start cleaning up until you have a mess on your hands.
A few facts about my manuscript:
- It’s a YA Dystopia. Yes, I know those aren’t selling too well right now, but it was a story that had to come out.
- The final word count on draft one is 70,406. Fifty thousand of those were written during November for National Novel Writing Month. I’ve been squeezing out the last 20,000 for a few months.
- It is the longest rough draft I’ve ever written.
- I got the idea when I was driving.
- I enjoyed writing it.
- It is told in first-person narration.
- It’s currently untitled.
- I knew as I was writing the last chapter that I need to totally rewrite the ending, but I had to finish the draft before moving on.
- I almost switched to another project, but now I need to finish this. Risa’s story won’t let me go.
What is my first step in the revision process?
Having 70,000+ words you need to revise, restructure, and tweak can feel overwhelming. The last time I tackled a major revision, I was in my MFA program. That looked very different. I submitted my manuscript in very rough form to my mentor, and he gave me amazing feedback in sections. I would work through them, he would give me more feedback, and I would work through that. Eventually, I had a polished manuscript ready to query. Well, except for that section I had to add after my second reader suggested the book wasn’t finished.
But now that I’m not in my MFA program, things will look different. Not because they are better. I would go back to the MFA program in a heartbeat if I could. The feedback was worth every penny I’m still spending on that degree. But because I don’t have firm deadlines or award-winning authors an email away to give me feedback, I have to improvise.
So, I am going to sit back and read. Read through my manuscript and take notes. I won’t make any changes while I read through it. Find what I love, find what doesn’t work, find what I think could be better. Then when I’m finished I hope that I’ll be able to make some final decisions about characters that are bothering me, or whole plot lines that don’t work as they are.
I’m afraid that if I dive into making changes chapter by chapter, I’ll miss big plot holes that need to be fixed. Then if a chapter needs to be scrapped it won’t be as painful. Hopefully.
After my initial read and notes, I will make any changes I feel need to happen. Beyond that, I begin the process of critique partners reading and receiving feedback. The revisions will depend on what they say.
Before I worked on my novel, We Were the First, in my MFA program, I was concerned I would find the revision process boring or tedious. What I discovered instead was that I could turn my rough edges into what I envisioned. Drafting is fun, but revision is the business of being a writer.
Overall, it just feels satisfying to accomplish this milestone. After all, I finished my rough draft! To know that I can move on to a new stage helps me to realize the progress. Seventy-thousand-words isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s worth celebrating.
Thank you everyone who continues to cheer me on!
XOXO