I really thought writing about how I approach my second draft would only take one blog post. As it turns out, a lot of work goes into creating a second draft. So much so, I had to write this second blog post. (Sorry!)

Earlier this week, I talked about how writing a second draft feels like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. I first focus on making sure the story is compiled into one document, then I try to correct as many spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors as I can.

That’s the easy stuff.

Now it’s time to get to fucking work.

Character Development: Questions You Shouldn’t Have the Answers to

Before I begin re-writing a story, I work on some character development. Character is the driving force of storytelling, so it’s important to examine who your characters are, what challenges they’re facing, what they want, and what they need. My initial draft may touch on some of these, but often times, I find I need more clarity on them.

I start off with some basic cosmetic detail: height, hair color, style, and favorite hobbies. I find this to be easier–a good baseline. I then go into the deeper stuff:

• What’s their home life like?
• What are some key relationships (good or bad) and why?
• What are some external challenges they are struggling to overcome?
• What are some internal ones?
• What do they want?
• What do the need?
• How do each of these things connect with one another?

(I’ve been experimenting with crating and using character development worksheets for my stories with more questions like these.  If you’re interested in seeing my worksheet, let me know!)

These are some essential questions, that you SHOULDN’T have the answers to when you start writing an initial draft. I find that the answers get teased out as you write. When you’re in the process of writing your second draft, however, I feel it’s a good time to ruminate on these questions and see which need some more thought.

Once I’ve done this, I try to find opportunities where I can bring out these character elements in a way that feels organic and meaningful.

Writing is Re-writing (and also Torcher)

Re-writing a story is torcher for me. So many thoughts cycle through my head when I’m getting ready to re-write a story: This is awful. Why couldn’t I get this right the first time? What was I thinking? However, there are times when I find a piece of prose that surprises me and makes me say: Wow, I wrote that?! Those are the moments that keep me going.

All this being said, writing is re-writing. Creating a second draft is all about making what’s on the page match the story you envisioned in your mind. Or at the very least, teasing it out through further exploration.

When I’m working on my second draft, I will take a hard look at some key moments in my story and see what opportunities there are to re-word my prose, bring out some key themes, and/or bridge different plot points. If I’m working on a specific section, I try my best to isolate it so I don’t get distracted by the surrounding words. It just makes it easier to focus.

I also see if there is anything I can scale back. Is there an unnecessary scene I should consider removing? Are there characters that would be better left out of the story? Is there a more concise way I could word a particular phrase or sentence.

One thing that terrifies me about this part of drafting is the fear of accidently taking out something that the story needs. I really don’t have any advice on this except trust your gut. And if you can’t trust your own, turn to a loyal friend or writing mentor to get their input. No matter what, though, get in the habit of saving different versions of your drafts.

It takes a while for me to finish a second draft, sometimes a full month or even a year. Maybe that is the perfectionist in me. Regardless, the story always comes out all the better for it. At this point, I’ll spend some time away from the draft before I read over it and see if it needs a third revision. Maybe I’ll even share it with a few trusted people to get their thoughts.

I hope you enjoyed this insight into my drafting process. I will see you next week!