The
Much-Needed, but Sometimes Dreaded Second Draft
Jessica
P. Morrell
“I don’t
write easily or rapidly. My first draft usually has only a few elements worth
keeping. I have to find what those are and build from them and throw out what
doesn’t work, or what simply is not alive.” — Susan Sontag
 |
| Jessica P. Morrell |
This
column is especially meant for those plucky souls who have recently survived
November’s hellacious, glutton-for-punishment and yet exhilarating
challenge—NaNoWriMo or National Writing Month. But then every writer faces a
second draft. And a third….and we could keep counting here, but let’s focus on
the second one of a book-length story or memoir. Because you’re in for a deep
rewrite along with analyzing, musing, and asking a lot of questions of yourself.
Your second draft focuses on
larger issues, consistency problems if the plot hangs together and the
architecture makes sense. A lot of second draft fixes solve structure
problems; fix places that needs bolstering or sections that need to be
eliminated or relocated. You’re also judging
plausibility and motivations. You’ll be making your major revisions at this
point, deciding whether you need to change the beginning, ending, or viewpoint.
This means you’re searching for scenes that don’t accomplish much, big plot holes, unanswered questions,
and wimpy stakes. You’ll make certain your key events occur in the right
order. And remain open to change: would allowing for some unplanned, newly-inspired
twist transform or deepen the story even if it’s different from your original
plan?
Start
with a plan. Your first trick is to achieve psychic and emotional distance. Stephen
King’s advises letting the manuscript cool for a few months, but for most
writers that cooling off period can turn into a deep freeze and you might opt
to avoid the hard work needed. A few weeks helps just fine, especially if
you’re on a deadline. No matter your timeframe, print it all out in a different
typeface than the one you wrote it in. Many mistakes you won’t notice by
reading it on a computer screen will become apparent because you’ll be
habituated to ignore them.
Next
schedule a solid bock to time for reading, note taking, and heavy analysis.
It’s best to undertake this in a different place than where the story was
written, thus adding even more editorial distance. It’s also helpful to work in
a location where you can take long walks while you ponder whether your story is
working or needs a major overhaul. I suggest an ocean view or lakeside cottage
or mountain hideaway, but that’s just me.
Plan to use a lot of colored ink and highlight sections that need moving
or trimming.
Create
a story bible if you haven’t already done so. Your bible ensures consistency and
connectedness— what this reading and rewrite should achieve. You might want to list all the scenes in the
story along with the change that takes place in each scene. Scenes require
change and then fallout. You might want to title your scenes. Note their time and location, the characters
involved and their ranking, their main physical and psychological traits. If
it’s a complex story with a sprawling cast, design a family tree or a web of
connections.
How
do your protagonist’s goals and motivations deepen throughout the story? After Act 1 often the protagonist’s goals
will change, become more personal. A search for a missing person uncovers a
human trafficking scheme. And then someone in the protagonist’s family becomes
endangered by these heartless criminals.
Perhaps at the end your characters want something far different from
what they fought for in the opening. Perhaps he or she is seeing the world with
new eyes. Stories where the characters’ priorities and worldview evolve are
powerful. Stories where they don’t can seem predictable.
Pay attention to events or motives that are never explained or
spelled out as if you’re whispering stage directions to the reader. Note if
there are too many dangling subplots or simply too many subplots. Often this
draft will be loose and sketchy, lacking in the narrative flow and glue that
holds a piece together. Or, it might be written in summary, thus the intimate
details and moments that bring the story to life will be missing. This means
you’ll be replacing summary with scenes. Notice if the viewpoint is consistent,
or if head-hopping is going on. Determine if your story contains surprises,
intrigue, and forward momentum
.
Make certain that you need the first chapter or scene. Many
stories are strengthened by a beheading because they start far before the first
crucial actions. Generally backstory isn’t needed in Act 1. If it’s a thriller
you need to start with a crisis or disaster, not a tour of the CIA headquarters.
It it’s a love story, collide the lovers as early as possible.
Checklist for
the First Revision:
·
A good story begins with turbulence or a
threat. Has your ‘ordinary world’ been introduced and does this intro include
tension, something amiss before the trouble starts?
·
Do your main characters have a physical
presence on the page? Have you added to their presence as the story proceeds? Is the whole visual enough?
·
Have you identified your protagonist’s
inner conflict?
·
How about your midpoint? Is it a game
changer? Did the story take your readers in a direction they couldn’t have
predicted? If so, does the inner logic hold up?
·
Can
readers understand where scenes are taking place and the timeframe for the
scene? Do you need transitions to bridge events? Is your timeline consistent?
·
Is the story question and main subplot clearly resolved?
- Are most
scenes built from obstacles?
- Can a scene be
cut without affecting the main story?
- Does each
action cause more actions and reactions?
- Evaluate the
order of your scenes—is this the right time to include this action or
should it wait?
- Do you need
to add twists and complications if it bogs down, especially in the middle?
- Is
description dispersed in small increments throughout and via a character’s viewpoint?
- Do you need
to add flashbacks so the characters’ motivations and goals make sense?
- Do the
flashbacks contain action or mostly summary?
- Do you need
to strengthen or add subplots? Or cut some because the story is wandering
too far afield?
- Have
you
created a plausible tie-in or between the main plot storyline and the main
subplot?
- Are you
noticing that a lot of the pages have the same emotions, tone and mood? If
so, how can you mix it up?
If you find major
problems, don’t panic. Instead create careful notes as if you were an editor
addressing a client. Chances are at this point you might need to expand or cut
backstory, deepen main characters, cut or combine secondary characters, expand
or cut subplots, reorder the scenes to heighten the tension, beef up the middle
so that it contains a potent twist, and refine the ending so it truly concludes
the plot. I repeat, don’t panic.
Thanks to Jessica for guesting again. Please check out Jessica's website for even more terrific writing advice and help. I can personally recommend her books as they're sitting on my shelf. Thanks, But This Isn't For Us can be purchased on Amazon.
Do you dread the second draft? Did one thing on her checklist really click with you?
