Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Short v. Long

As I wrestle with the novella/maybe/wannabe novel, I’ve been thinking a lot about writing style. I’ve said before how long and how hard I’ve worked to cut down on my verbiage, to pare down my writing to the essential words and to make those words work in a very spare writing garden. But I also find that I like reading lush description when that’s done right and well and isn’t simply the result of spraying words for filler.

That carries over to first drafts as well. Write It Sideways has an interesting post on the pros and cons of writing short v. long first drafts here. Check it out and tell me: How do you write your first drafts? Short or long? And is that style reflected in your final draft? Or are you a universe away from where you started after rounds of revisions?

19 comments:

  1. LOL. I just read that post in my inbox this morning. I guess I write close to where the novel will end up, but it goes through major yo-yo dieting as I cut down some parts and build up other parts (like description).

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  2. My first book was too long in description and spent too much time in the character's head. Now I write sparingly to get the ideas down, and fill in afterwards. For my latest WIP, I added about 11k to the YA manuscript from 41k to 52k.

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  3. I guess I'm a long first-drafter? Or maybe a medium? I try to write it as close to how I think the final product should look; like I told someone yesterday, I'd rather put in the hours and do the heavy lifting while I'm still thrilled with the book, rather than give myself more of a headache when I'm hip-deep in revisions.

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  4. My first drafts are short, and then I fill in parts later. That seems to work for me.

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  5. I write very, very long usually, then make severe cuts. If I try to write short in draft, it's usually the most obvious (boring, unremarkable) ideas that make it to the page. When I let myself write long, the best ideas bubble up eventually. It's just far easier for me to trim in revision than to add.

    One thing I'm up against in my last set of revisions is my CPs asking me to expand two scenes. I'll have to revert completely to freewriting drafting to generate material, then trim it to the best stuff.

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  6. My instinct is to say that longer is better, because you have more to choose from. It's easier to cut than to add.

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  7. I try to get my first draft between 93 and 97K, and then find that I always add to come revision time. I can't remember ever taking something out, but when I'm adding in, it's always to elaborate on a thought.

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  8. I apparently write long and then cut. My rough draft was 117K. Now the book is at 84K. I don't think I'll ever write like that again though. I think there was a lot of wasted effort. We'll see though when WIP II is done though I guess.

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  9. This was my answer over there: Definitely long first drafter. In all honesty I've tried both and find the longer version keeps the storyline solid and fresh for me.

    Short drafts, I tend to lose key elements. Thankfully I can still pull off a long draft in 3 months tops. (Hugs)Indigo

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  10. mine tend to be longish, mostly because i don't write carefully and throw in as many adverbs and adjectives as i want, just to get it done

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  11. Because my area is primarily short stories, I alway battle with too many words...

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  12. I don't think about anything when I'm writing my first draft but I would say that they are always a bit short, depending on how exciting I am about the novel and how quickly the words are flowing, sometimes I find that I need to skip ahead before I forget another part, in the end I still leave myself a bit of tip so that I know what to come back to!

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  13. I'm all about getting my draft down on paper. I don't worry about length,though I usually have a goal. I don't like description so it's always barebones (I add that stuff later at readers' requests). I like to finish quickly and then spend months revising.

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  14. I agree with Eva: easier to snip away than to flesh out an existing work. More or less like trimming hedges: you need the whole growth before you decide what shape you want to give it :-)

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  15. I'm somewhere in between. I add more color as I edit, but most of the time I add description of setting with the action of the story. :)

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  16. For the first draft, just write, don't think about length. I believe Arthur Levine once told my friend in a critique. The length doesn't matter as long as it's interesting.

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  17. I write long. I find it easier to cut than expand, I think; I used to write shorter (too short) when I was a young writer. Maybe someday I'll find a balance!

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  18. My rough draft is WAY too long. So I have to put it on a diet - too many adverbs, too much unnecessary description (and probably not enough necessary) oi. But I guess it's easier to cut than build? At least I find it so :)

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  19. It depends (yes, the classic non-answer). If there's a setting that plays a particularly important role in the storyline, I try to develop it more fully so the reader gets a fuller tactile sense of that place. Similarly, if there's a pivotal scene of emotional depth or internal transformation, I want to take the time (and words) to properly and fully develop the nuances and details of that scene.

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