Do the Opposite of "Trim The Fat" Trick

[junechevalier]

Hello, my name is June Chevalier, and I'm a fantasy author. I would like to share my method to writing a novel, which I've actually employed to finish my recent novel "Gotterhavn: Hecatomb's Prize".
I have heard so much about writing the first draft fat, and then cutting the fat later on during editing pass. I did the opposite. In my first draft, I wrote only the barebones, the necessary plot without embellishment, which resulted in low word count. During the editing, I checked whether I could trim some part of the plot, and then I started to expand, adding details and paragraphs that could enhance the atmosphere, adding more flair to the dialogues, etc.
It is very doable, and it actually takes away the dread of 1) writing that long first draft, which now shouldn't be too long, and 2) the pain of cutting and trimming too many things you might've grown attached to.
I hope it helps!

 

[pmmg]

Whatever works,

I can choose to write an outline first, and then fill in details later, and thats not far off from the above.

There are several writing strategies that are similar to this. Snowflake comes to mind, where you write a skeleton, and just keep adding meat to it.

Presently, I am reading a book where the level of detail is so great, I just imagine what would happen to my own writing if I went for the same type of detail. My 200K book would explode to 800K. I feel that would be the wrong direction for me.

 

[junechevalier]

Definitely. My novel ended up having 160k words, which is a sweet spot for me personally. Not too short that it feels rushed, but not too long that it feels overstaying its welcome. But what I'm saying is with the barebone first draft, you're still on track even though you feel like you wanna put an emphasis on a certain part, or you wanna add a paragraph or two here and there. Just a way to streamline things.

 

[Finchbearer]

I actually have started doing it this way. I write a skeleton of a draft; 500-1000 words per chapter, then back fill. This gives me an opportunity to keep the story fresh in my mind and the plot beats I want to have. I’ve yet to finish and publish though.

 

[junechevalier]

Yes! You can pace better this way, and you don't have to actually finish the actual book to read it in its entirety, so you have a clear view of everything and can change things around without having to remove a large piece of writing, saving you time

 

[Finchbearer]

Yes! You can pace better this way, and you don't have to actually finish the actual book to read it in its entirety, so you have a clear view of everything and can change things around without having to remove a large piece of writing, saving you time

Pretty much. It also helps me find the tone too without being bogged down with extra details that can be added later. It’s also easier I find to place foreshadowing this way.

 

[Incanus]

This is pretty much what I'm doing on my current WIP.

I've taken to calling it a 'half-draft' (sort of stolen from the idea of a 'zero-draft). In my mind, I'm creating a single rough draft of the story by writing half of the draft at a time, taking two passes. In reality, it is probably more like I'm creating about 60-70% of the draft right now, and I'll expand it out to 100% on the next run through.

So far this method seems to be working well for me. For one thing, I'm much too slow to write stuff that I'm just going to cut later. Not that everything I put in is 'keeper' material.

Hope the method is working well for you----

 

[Rexenm]

I trim the fat as I go, or have a classical no editing policy. Mostly, I don’t stick with the same plot as my planning, but if I go the skeletal way, it starts making me feel logged-down.

 

[Rexenm]

So, embellishment is the way to dumb it down. Wild!!

 

[Karlin]

I am the "unplanned writer". I start with a "what if?" idea, have a vague idea of who the characters are, and start writing. After a chapter or two, I get to know the characters, and likely have to rewrite the first couple of chapters. As I write, I scribble down ideas of where the story might be going, and discover more about the characters.

This is really all "wrong" and perhaps "unprofessional". But think about it- who are you to decide who the characters are, or what they are going to do?

 

[Prince of Spires]

I'm not sure I've often seen the advice to write the first draft fat. The main advice I've seen is to just get the first draft written however you can, and from there improve on that draft to get to a good story.

And many people tend to overwrite, or write fat. Describing too much, or going off on unnecessary tangents or starting the story too soon. That sort of thing. So they would probably need to trim the fat. However, that's by no means everyone. Plenty of people under-write.

This is really all "wrong" and perhaps "unprofessional". But think about it- who are you to decide who the characters are, or what they are going to do?

It's not though. Discovery-writing, or pantsing, is just as valid a way of writing as outlining the whole thing is. Plenty of professional writers just start with a character and take it from there. Stephen King is the prime example here. He even said that creating an outline kills the story and the desire to write it for him.

All in all, there are as many different ways of writing as there are writers. Find what works for you and do that.

 

[Rexenm]

It kinda reminds me of the Stormgate debacle. Kinda think they have somethin’ to say.