How long to wait before re-reading your draft?

FTJoshua · Mar 11, 2008

So I've finished my WIP, printed it out, and set it aside while I pick away at the next book (while anxiously awaiting for a sale of my first book).

I assume most everyone here sets their draft aside for a period of time to gain some distance and perspective before revising.

So my question is, how long do you wait, and why?

I've read it should be a month; I'm planning on a week or so.
Thanks!

TrishD · Mar 11, 2008

FTJoshua said:
So I've finished my WIP, printed it out, and set it aside while I pick away at the next book (while anxiously awaiting for a sale of my first book).

I assume most everyone here sets their draft aside for a period of time to gain some distance and perspective before revising.

So my question is, how long do you wait, and why?

I've read it should be a month; I'm planning on a week or so.
Thanks!

I'm sure every responder will give you a different answer. Me? I didn't set mine aside at all. Ever. As soon as I was finished with one draft, I went back and started editing.

dawinsor · Mar 11, 2008

I set mine aside for at least a week, but preferrably longer. I usually write a short story while I'm letting the novel cool.

windyrdg · Mar 11, 2008

I think it all has to do with your work habits. If you're the type of person who "finishes" a chapter and then moves on to the next, you probably don't have to wait. After all, you haven't seen chapter one in quite some time. If you were just polishing it a couple of days ago, I'd say wait a little while.

If you feel the story is pretty well "there", you might want to give it to a few first readers and then go back to it after you;ve gotten their input. That way, you've let it rest, but things are still moving forward.

geardrops · Mar 11, 2008

I'll let you know at the end of July

(hard deadline I've set for myself on finishing my WIP).

Mumut · Mar 11, 2008

I try to wait a couple of weeks because I tend to edit as I'm going and when I've written the last word I've probably worked on the first chapter at the same time. Sometimes, though, I think of something and can't wait to put it in. So I have to start from scratch to make sure it's 'seeded' properly. That's when I make my first full edit.

CasualObserver · Mar 11, 2008

I'm one of those who can't leave the draft version alone while I'm still writing. I send along 2000-3000 word sections to people whose reading I trust and, if I get stuck, go back and edit bits they recommended or I wasn't happy with. This method works well for me, but I find that I can't edit a completed draft because of it. You have to have fresh eyes for an edit.

Up to six months, I've noticed no added benefit to waiting longer than that. Otherwise, it'll depend on how deep you were in the manuscript when you completed it.

Moxie · Mar 11, 2008

Mine has been sitting for almost a year, but that's mostly because I'm too intimidated by it to start editing...

Daimeera · Mar 11, 2008

Mine sat for well over two years and I'm finally getting to it now. In the meantime, I've written part of a sequel (both as NaNoWriMo novels). But I think I've finally beaten the intimidation . . . I hope. I do find I'm much more objective now and much, much more improved, but two years from now I'll probably have improved too, so take that for what it is.

I would have been fine with editing it after a few months if I wasn't scared of editing, I think. I just needed to get to a certain point of detachment. I'm also in a slightly different mindspace now, which in this particular case helps--I'm not embroiled in my own personal dramas.

Sage · Mar 11, 2008

I tend to reread it as soon as I get over the excitement of finishing it. Which can be a day or two. I have to reread it once before serious editing, I figured it out recently, because otherwise my first pass is spent enjoying the story too much and I don't really edit in detail like I need to.

Shadow_Ferret · Mar 11, 2008

I don't wait. Waiting breeds procrastination and then I'll never get back to it.

Besides, I've got a lousy memory and it's all new to me each time I reread it no matter how much time has passed.

donroc · Mar 11, 2008

No waiting. I write through to the end, make notes aas I write that will change earlier chapters, finish, and start again with a better perspective.

LaceWing · Mar 11, 2008

Maybe for some it's not a measure of time passed so much as the number of other words written?

ishtar'sgate · Mar 11, 2008

FTJoshua said:
So my question is, how long do you wait, and why?
I've read it should be a month; I'm planning on a week or so.
Thanks![/quote
I wait a few months. If I've timed it right I'm ready to lay it in a drawer for the summer while I busy myself with gardening, holidays and company. When I take it out again I see it as a reader and not a writer. I need that distance to gain perspective on what does and doesn't read well.
Linnea

caromora · Mar 11, 2008

It varies depending on what I'm working on. For my first book, I put it aside for a week, wrote a bunch of articles and short stories (and fan fiction--sorry to those of you who hate it

), and then dug back in. For a short story, I usually put it away for a day or two.

megan_d · Mar 11, 2008

I just finished my first novel, and I started editing the very next day. But I did absolutely no editing along the way, it had been a while since I'd seen chapter one!

FTJoshua · Mar 11, 2008

It's fascinating to me to read about so many different methods and ways of getting the job done. Sounds like Your Way is the Best Way, eh? I think my thing will be fighting impatience.

lucky8 · Mar 12, 2008

I'm planning on a couple of weeks so I can let the dust settle and work on something else in the mean time.

seun · Mar 12, 2008

Everybody's different. I leave it for a month to five weeks, write a short story or two and possibly submit other stuff.

Cav Guy · Mar 12, 2008

This has been discussed a couple of times before, I think, but it never hurts to bring it up again...

I'm one of those who puts a first draft aside for at least two months. Novels, at least. Short stories and articles I only set aside for a couple of days or a week at the most. Normally while the first draft is sitting, I work on another project (either character planning or some sort of outline/plot sheet...I go back and forth on which system to use).

ToddWBush · Mar 12, 2008

I sat my first draft aside for about two weeks, but never really editted it. I just launched right into the second draft because I knew the word count already and knew it wasn't long enough. The first draft was around 38,000 words. The second draft, which is in the hands of some trusted friends, is coming it at 63,000.

King, as we probably all know from reading On Writing, waits almost six weeks. It's really up to the person.

Sassee · Mar 12, 2008

I wanted to start revisions a week after I finished. Then I got busy, holidays made their appearance, etc...

I ended up sidelining it for 2-3 months. I can tell you, I had a MUCH better perspective and was MUCH more capable of giving it the attention it needed. I know you're excited, but I would wait longer.

ishtar'sgate · Mar 12, 2008

Sassee said:
I wanted to start revisions a week after I finished. Then I got busy, holidays made their appearance, etc...

I ended up sidelining it for 2-3 months. I can tell you, I had a MUCH better perspective and was MUCH more capable of giving it the attention it needed. I know you're excited, but I would wait longer.

Precisely! Distance really does make a difference to how you approach your work. Even though I do a fair bit of revising as I go along, I find I must make myself leave that first draft alone for a good long while because I'm too close to it and can't see my mistakes if I'm impatient.
Linnea

Sonneillon · Mar 12, 2008

I edit my WIP chapter by chapter, and I usually wait 3-5 days before editing a chapter I've written. When I'm done (and I'm halfway to my word goal with no end in sight, so who knows when THAT will be...) I'll probably let it sit for about a month to get it completely out of my system, then go back and start editing from the beginning. The longer, the better... when I go back and read things I wrote years ago, it's like reading an entirely new book - I spot things that never occurred to me before, and everything's as fresh as if I didn't write the book in the first place.

Raphee · Mar 12, 2008

There is no one way, but if you want distance from your work; wait a month.

How long to wait before re-reading your draft?

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