: Re: Is writing three drafts really necessary? So I understand the first draft which is basically writing whatever comes to mind but I don't understand why we have to rewrite it three times. Can

@Debbie451

Vote Up Vote Down

The point of "subsequent drafts" is that for 99% of writers, the first draft is weak. That's completely fine. The purpose of the first draft is to get the damn thing on paper. You can't edit an empty page.

Subsequent drafts are for fixing weak spots: in plot, timeline, character, worldbuilding, credibility, theme, and so on.

You might need two or three rounds to fix those trouble spots depending on how many or how extensive they are. There is no magic number beyond "probably more than one." Mercedes Lackey rewrote her first trilogy seventeen times before it was published. Gregory Maguire took ten years to write Wicked. Barbara Cartland probably just did a spellcheck.

Your final one or two rounds should be polishing: grammar, spelling, punctuation.

The real question is what you consider one draft to be. Is it "one complete round of edits from beginning to end" or "rewrite the entire book"? Because it's usually not necessary to rewrite the entire book three times, but you will do multiple rounds of edits.

(0)

Login to post a comment!