So I've just started draft number one...

WannabeWriter · Oct 24, 2007

It is quite fun to be in the middle of chapter 2 of my work in progress. At the same time, I look at what I've written so far and it really falls short of what I want it to look like. I realize this is the normal process, but I can see how people can easily be discouraged as a new writer. I'm not giving up, but I just can't help but think that I got a long way to go before the final draft is just right.

For one thing, I've written chapter one, but I was hoping it would be much longer. Same for this current chapter. Maybe I can expand on each chapter once I get to draft two. Does anybody write like that? That's what I find might work easiest for me.

Feel free to share your own experiences with writing the very first draft of your very first novel. I need some inspiration.

rwam · Oct 24, 2007

All I can say is, don't get too attached to that first chapter! My original chapter one is no longer in my manuscript.

Don't worry too much about how long it is, either. At its simplest level, each chapter is a 'scene with a purpose'. Did your scene achieve its purpose? Does it draw the reader in? Worry about that kind of stuff.

Chances are, six months from now you'll have a first draft and it'll be longer than you anticipated (or, at least, longer than most agents are looking for). Then you'll start to edit, cut, and cut some more, and you'll be surprised at how different your final draft will look from what you have now.

Good luck and enjoy the process!

althrasher · Oct 24, 2007

Just write. Generally, my first draft tends to be little more than rambling. For me, it's so much easier to edit what's already there. So don't worry if the first parts are crap. Just pray no one tries to read it

joyce · Oct 24, 2007

My first novel originally ended with 57,000 words before an edit. I started researching at that point on what I really needed to do in trying to get and agent. I found AW. I realized I needed about 80,000 words to be marketable so I began editing. During every edit I found things that needed to be cut or needed something added. After 6 edits and probably 3 months later, I ended up with 84,000 words. At first I wondered how I was going to make it longer, but it seemed to come easy when I started looking seriously at what I'd written. It seems when writing I have to get past chapter 3 or around 50 pages before my pace begins to quicken. Until then I'm too busy doubting everything I've written so far. Good luck with your writing and don't give up.

David I · Oct 24, 2007

WannabeWriter said:
For one thing, I've written chapter one, but I was hoping it would be much longer.

I don't think I've ever had an expectation of how long a chapter ought to be! After I'm into a book, I get an idea of how long they tend to run...but I don't think I've ever hoped they would be longer.

Remember also that "chapters" are to some degree arbitrary divisions. My first chapter of my first novel ran 28 pages, but there were at least five scenes in those 28 pages. Another writer might have made it five chapters.

The whole thing is a lot like paragraphing--there are some general guidelines, but most of it is a matter of style.

If it bothers you because it feels sketchy to you, then you'd probably be better off fixing it now. On the other hand, if it bothers you because of some preconceived notion of how long chapters ought to be, quit worrying.

Just Me 2021 · Oct 24, 2007

My first drafts tend to be sketchy and skimpy - like a skeleton - and my later drafts flesh that skeleton out more. Then my final drafts cut away the extra flab on the skeleton. I think this is because I don't know my characters well enough when I first start, but figure them out as I go, meaning the future drafts are full of additions as I figure out all the details.

Enjoy the first draft! It's a tough process - so many decisions to make! - but it's fun.

PeeDee · Oct 24, 2007

WHat you write will never be exactly the ideal which you had in your head.

WHich is fine. It may fall short, it may not match up, but what comes out on the paper is perhaps better for public consumption than the ideal that was in your head.

Just write, and worry later.

OctoberRain · Oct 24, 2007

PeeDee said:
WHat you write will never be exactly the ideal which you had in your head.

WHich is fine. It may fall short, it may not match up, but what comes out on the paper is perhaps better for public consumption than the ideal that was in your head.

Just write, and worry later.

This is great advice. I changed my first chapter four times because I believed it had to be perfect before I could move on. I felt like a fat hamster running on a little wheel.

Write the best you can, but keep moving forward. Aim to complete your first draft, and try not to let yourself stress too much about the details. You'll catch all that stuff in the rewrites... hopefully. What do I know, this is my first time too. :tongue

DVGuru · Oct 24, 2007

I always feel like I'm trying to outrun self-doubt when I write. With my first drafts, I don't write in manuscript format, and I don't break the writing into chapters--I only skip a line for each new scene. It helps the writing flow, and also I don't feel like what I'm writing is set in stone, but just the frame of a story that I'm going to build upon in later drafts.

canteloupe1020 · Oct 24, 2007

OctoberRain said:
This is great advice. I changed my first chapter four times because I believed it had to be perfect before I could move on. I felt like a fat hamster running on a little wheel.

I've remembered a story told me early on:
A boy became despondent because he couldn't beat his father at anything. His father told him, "We'll have a contest from the back porch through the snow to the tree at the end of the yard. Whoever makes the straightest line wins."
The boy was so excited that he started out immediately, carefully watching each step along the way. Each time he looked up, he corrected his steps to bring him closer to the tree. His father arrived at the tree first, but that was okay, because the boy knew he'd have the straightest line.
When he arrived at the tree, he looked back to see that his line wavered all over the yard, while his father's line was straight to the tree.
"But I was so careful with each step!" he cried.
"Yes, but you forgot to keep your eye on the goal, instead of the steps," his father answered.

CandlestickJay · Oct 24, 2007

I really like that little story. It makes plenty of sense.

My first draft...it was about reincarnation, and it was teriiibblle. I don't even know what happened to it.

blacbird · Oct 24, 2007

Always keep in mind: You don't need to write anything from beginning to end. Movies are almost never made that way, and lots of writers don't do that. Your beginning might wind up being more appropriate somewhere else in your story, or might be more appropriate being out of your story altogether.

caw

JamieFord · Oct 24, 2007

For one thing, I've written chapter one, but I was hoping it would be much longer. Same for this current chapter. Maybe I can expand on each chapter once I get to draft two. Does anybody write like that?

I just write scenes. Some are long, some are short. I give them all chapter headings just to sort it out as a printed manuscript, but if they relate to other scenes, I'll group them with scene breaks and they'll become longer chapters.

HOTEL was written with about 85 scenes that have been joined to form 53 chapters. Some as short as 4 pages, others as long as 30.

Those chapters might be joined again so the aggregate will be even fewer.

Judg · Oct 24, 2007

Trying to make my first chapters right kept me from completing anything for years. It wasn't until Nanowrimo pounded it into my head that it's OK to write crap for the first draft that I started getting anywhere. Uncle Jim here at AW has a certificate here you can print up giving you permission to write crap.

Personally, I prefer to think of it as clay, slimy, grey and kind of unappetizing, but I've got to produce it before I can throw it on the wheel and mold it. So as I've been writing this first draft, I keep a file I call notes, where I write down all the things that need to be modified when I get to the second draft, just to prevent myself from going back and revising and getting caught in that vicious circle.

wayndom · Oct 24, 2007

Although this doesn't work for some people, I find it's best to never look at what I've written until I get to "the end," (which in fact I never write).

Call it the Satchel Paige school of writing. Once the first draft is done, you can mess with it any way you want, but if you re-read what you've written before the first draft is done, you run the risk of discouraging yourself out of finishing it.

"Don't look back -- they might be gaining on you!"

ZannaPerry · Oct 24, 2007

I'm working on my first novel, my first draft, and I'm not even thinking about chapters at this point. I've decided to just write the bone of the story, even if it's leading the way you want, or not. For being on this website a lot, everyone basically told me to shut up and just write the damn story. Then worry about the whole thing during the revising stages. And that's what I'm doing. I'm writing the story, worrying about chapters later.

You will find that the writing process is easier to take in.

WannabeWriter · Oct 24, 2007

Very good responses by everyone. Thanks a lot.

I do agree that the skeleton comes first before the flesh. I just finished writing chapter two and I'm happy about it now, even if it's just a skeleton. At least I have the three scenes in chapter two, and in later drafts, I will expand on the details and dialogue since the first draft looks somewhat rushed. But yeah, it's fun. Little by little each day, and I'll be done with the first draft in no time. Then repeat.

I also am someone who plans out the book. I have an outline for this story from beginning to end with just enough main details to hold the story together, but other details are things I'm putting in along the way. I guess I'm not as spontaneous as some people. But hey, the outline works for me, so that's what I'm sticking with.

ishtar'sgate · Oct 24, 2007

I don't think you need to worry about the length of your chapters. Books develop a rhythm of their own and a lot of it has to do with pacing. I found my early chapters were longer and as things heated up toward the end they got shorter and shorter. I didn't plan it that way, the rhythm of the story made it that way.
Linnea

Garpy · Oct 25, 2007

DVGuru said:
I always feel like I'm trying to outrun self-doubt when I write.

That phrase sums me up perfectly. Very good quote that.

Prawn · Oct 25, 2007

I am sorry, I don't know what you guys are talking about. When I finish Chapter 1 I run on to chapter to. I am dying to find out what happens! I can edit it and make it pretty later.

MMWyrm · Oct 25, 2007

I run through first drafts without looking back. They are pretty bare bones and never look like I want them too.

I have written 6 novels (none published - none attempted to be published yet) and none look like I want them to look. I did pull out my first novel and reread it the other night. It's on its 17th edit and I thought it was great. Well, when I read it again, it sucked.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you will get better the more you write, but you may never be completely satisfied.

jennifer75 · Oct 25, 2007

Honestly, I'm not paying attention to page count or word count or even paragraph count when writing my chapters. I'm going by the story. If I find a "cliff hanger" I'll end the chapter. That's how I like to read them, so that's how I'll write them.

This is my first project ever and I'm still learning along the way, but I'll tell you when I hit my 2nd chapter I was extremely impressed. Chapter length did not occur to me all.

Nateskate · Oct 25, 2007

WannabeWriter said:
It is quite fun to be in the middle of chapter 2 of my work in progress. At the same time, I look at what I've written so far and it really falls short of what I want it to look like. I realize this is the normal process, but I can see how people can easily be discouraged as a new writer. I'm not giving up, but I just can't help but think that I got a long way to go before the final draft is just right.

For one thing, I've written chapter one, but I was hoping it would be much longer. Same for this current chapter. Maybe I can expand on each chapter once I get to draft two. Does anybody write like that? That's what I find might work easiest for me.

Feel free to share your own experiences with writing the very first draft of your very first novel. I need some inspiration.

The easiest way to expand your story is to add an interesting character, at least for me. Who are they? Why do they matter? It also helps with building story lines, and sub plots.

TLHines · Oct 25, 2007

wayndom said:
Although this doesn't work for some people, I find it's best to never look at what I've written until I get to "the end," (which in fact I never write).

I'm with wayndom on this. In my own experience, the biggest breakthrough came when I decided I wouldn't let myself edit anything until the entire story was done; this kept me from editing and re-editing the same 30 pages day after day. When I'm on a first draft, I don't even do chapter breaks; I just put three asterisks down for scene breaks, and later group scenes logically for the chapter breaks...you know, AFTER my first draft is done.

And don't worry too much about length. Some people tend to prattle on and end up with too much, then have to go back and cut. Others tend to zip through the story without a lot of detail, then have to go back and put some more flesh on the bones.

jennifer75 · Oct 25, 2007

TLHines said:
And don't worry too much about length. Some people tend to prattle on and end up with too much, then have to go back and cut. Others tend to zip through the story without a lot of detail, then have to go back and put some more flesh on the bones.

I can't help but ask, whas is considered too short? For a novel? I've read some pretty short books and thought nothing of it other than "boy, I'll be able to get this read rather quickly".

So I've just started draft number one...

WannabeWriter

rwam

althrasher

Prodigal Muser

joyce

I'm really shy...

David I

Just Me 2021

practical experience, FTW

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

OctoberRain

I triple dog dare you.

DVGuru

Plays too many video games

canteloupe1020

CandlestickJay

blacbird

JamieFord

giving resonant directions

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

wayndom

ZannaPerry

^ Just Me & a Sharpie

WannabeWriter

ishtar'sgate

living in the past

Garpy

keyboard monkey

Prawn

Writing is finite,revising infinite

MMWyrm

jennifer75

SupahStah!

Nateskate

TLHines

jennifer75

SupahStah!