Drafting is the (sometimes grueling, sometimes glorious) process of getting your writing down on the page. People draft in different ways, with some writers spilling out full drafts in short bursts and others laboring over nearly every word choice.
How do you draft when you write? Do you write on paper with pen or pencil, or do you draft on a computer screen? Do you need certain things to be near when you write (coffee, reference books, monkey chow, etc.)? As you write, do you have any habits you can recognize that are helpful (or, even if not helpful, necessary)?
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackWhen I draft, I prefer to work on a keyboard, for I’m out of the habit of rapid writing, and the ideas flow quickly and profusely once I’m ready to begin.
I don’t pay too much attention to form when I’m doing this, but prefer instead to roll along with the inspiration and to simply get the words down on paper (or screen, actually!). I don’t worry about polish, sentence fluency & complexity or sometimes, even capitalization & punctuation – I can do all of that later, when I’m ready to revise.
Depending on what I’m writing, I may have on hand several sources. I use them more for expository writing than for creative writing, but I’ll place them near my writing area, perhaps open to pertinent sections, or even re-read paragraphs before or during my drafting process. It’s a way to remember my sources and to separate my own thoughts and words from those I learned from; in short, a way to detect influences and weave them within my work without overutilizing them. As I tell my students: put it in your OWN words!
Sometimes it’s a quick burst, often a more arduous process, but I try to complete the basic body in one sitting….and then leave it alone for awhile (overnight is best) so that the ideas can germinate and flower in new ways and I work on something completely different – like pulling weeds in my garden – to shift focus so I’ll be refreshed when I return.
Drafting the multi-modal project was challenging because I was essentially drafting two texts simultaneously (a research paper and the video I will as students to produce).
I was so excited about the multi-modal project that it rapidly spun out beyond the scope of “do-able” in two weeks time. I tried to imagine the stress a student would feel at the moment of that particular revelation. And it humbled me. So, thinking like a student, I sat down at 9pm the day before it was due to write the research paper. I had only cursory research which I had gleened from the internet and looked the rest up as I went along. I then took my camera (with, it turns out, insufficient memory cards) to interview people for whom I had prepared no interview questions.
I found myself going back and forth. I would try to concentrate on the paper, but new ideas would come up for the video. So, in the moment, I would google an image I could use, or record a little strip of dialogue. New questions would arise, (or I would get distracted for an hour by my garden) and I would return to writing the paper.
Most importantly though, is that the drafting process made questions about the content (The Quaker faith) more apparent. When I came up against these questions, I called my Quaker friend in Oregon. She was more help, ultimately, over e-mail. She sent me links to other home-made videos on Quakers, pdf pamphlets, and a coulpe times just fielded the question herself. (I cited her as a “personal interview”).
The drafting of the video script became, in the end, about what was managable. I highlighted parts of the research paper that I found most illuminating AND for which I had images or video. This meant that only about 1/16 of the content of the paper made it into the 3 minute film. This predictable ratio DID surprise me, though. And I have to remember that with students too. I have to tell them that the video can only be an imperfect representation of their research and writing. (Or, paraphrasing Derrida, language is slippery, man.)
I’m a pretty slow drafter, but I’ve figured some things out over the years. There are some people who can write the middle of a paper without writing the introduction first, but I’m not one of them. I have to write the introduction first, because if I don’t, I won’t know what I’m trying to say in the rest. I think about the intro as the lines on a road. Those lines help me stay in my lane, get where I’m going, and arrive in a safe condition. My intro has to set out for me what I’m going to be talking about, what I’m trying to figure out, and how I’m going to figure it out. Once I get that set in my mind, I can move on to drafting the rest of the piece.
As I move into the body of a paper, I try to keep anticipating my next move. What will I say next? How will it go with what I’ve just been saying? What can I use to prove my points? If I get to a point where I need to stop writing (if I’m short of time, for instance), I always write something like [NEXT: paragraph that defines academic writing. Use Hillocks and Gadda] so when I start up again, I know what I was thinking about and can get started again pretty quickly.
Drafting is tough because it means actually getting started, which is for me the hardest part. To draft, I need to have my notes nearby, my list. I have had some pretty good writing sessions with just pen and pad, but when I am keyboarding my hands can keep up with my thoughts a little better. The downside of drafting on the keyboard is deleting. The first line is always a killer and it is usually deleted numerous times, and once it is gone it is gone. Whereas handwritten first lines, even if crossed out, remain to remind me where I was going before I changed my mind. When I am lucky, I will get into a groove and the words just come barreling out of me. Those grooves are hard to come by, though. When I can’t find the stinkin’ groove, I just make myself write what I am thinking, even if it is not pretty. When I come back to it later, I can choose better words, elaborate with details, rearrange and so forth. One thing that is key when drafting is quiet. I need to be able to think, reread (prayer style), tap my feet until I dig up the right word all without interruption. Even music is too distracting for me when I am in the drafting stage.
I very rarely write on a computer for my first draft. I must have the special pen and the right paper or a nice journal. These things help me to switch into writer mode. A cup of tea or coffee helps, definitely have to have something to drink. For the past several years I have written most of my first drafts while writing with a group. When I write with others I feel more courageous. I always read my first draft out loud. It’s essential to my process. I like being able to read my first draft to the other writers in my group. We don’t “workshop” our poems on the intitial readings. But it’s nice to get immediate feedback from writers that I respect.
I think that I use the drafting stage as a means of working out my thoughts–and it is literally always in progress. As I said before, when I pre-write, I think A LOT about my topic, so when it’s finally time to get it on the page… I have a lot to say and some ideas about how I want to say it. When I draft, I make every attempt to vomit all of these ideas on to the page without any real care or concern for the format or correctness or anything–I just want all of my thoughts to exist. Sometimes they will later disappear or be refined or modified, but I need to remember them in order to do that. Once everything is on the page, I have to read and re-read and get up and move around and think some more and take a break. This may be my attempt at procrastination, but it actually helps me to get away from what I am saying… the problem with this part is that I never want to look at that mess again. The reality is that I need to, so I do. After I re-check my work, I usually ask for the input of someone, who know what I am up to, to look over my work and give me some suggestions. Then, I rework my ideas and fine-tune my writing.
The time I have spent in the institute has proven to me that I am an reluctant writer especially when someone tells me what to write, when it’s due, and to do it quietly. Drafting is frustrating to me for various reasons. I often feel like I don’t really have anything important or valuable to say plus I am a poor writer when I feel like this. Many times my writing sounds boring and elementary, so this discourages me to go on. My surroundings can really irritate me when I’m writing, for example being cooped up in a little tiny space agitates me so badly that I am too frustrated to write anything valuable down.
I need space to pace, then have a clear path for when I run back to the computer with a fresh idea. While drafting I need to have a clear mind, which is not always easy for me to accomplish since my mind is usually racing about several things at any given time. In order for me to write well and come up with intriguing or interesting thoughts and ideas I need to be grounded and caffeinated. As long as I can remember coffee has been a way of getting my busy mind to focus on one thing for an extended about of time. Being away from home and my Cuisinar Coffee Maker was a detriment to me these last few weeks since I’ve felt uncomfortable and frazzled. Oh yeah, and my dog Lacy keeps me on a regular break schedule while I’m writing in our home office because she feels the need to have me let her out in the yard then immediately back in the house every 15 minutes or so. She also stinks up the room so I have to leave until the stench clears.
When I have all of the above going for me I really enjoy writing and often laugh at my twisted humor or odd little sayings as I write. Drafting is very enjoyable for me when I am in the mood and have a purpose for writing. Persuading and entertaining have to be my favorite things to draft because I can use facts and humor to make my writing take shape. When I’m writing like this my ideas usually flow out quickly and I write until I think I’m at the end, then I go back and revise.
Drafting for is me is with words, as well as shapes. My Creative Writing MFA thesis is a non-fictional presentation of a spiritual system, requiring my most demanding prewriting process yet. The intention of this project requires great clarity in the prewriting stage, for the teachings present must modulate in even gradations of tone and idea.
In my studio, there’s an immense four by eight foot piece of white-laminated particle board, functioning as my brain. I’ve literally formed a grid of seven by seven domains: seven rows are the discrete subjects and the seven columns are discrete contexts by which we experience the seven subjects, very much like a color chart cascades in two axis when evenly mixed with white (rows) and black (columns).
Concurrent with this entire plan is a cycle of seven images I’m currently drawing, each of which are a non-linear, visual culmination of the book prewriting described above. Ideally, the book and the images will grow and develop their form together. I’ve never worked with words and images in the same process of drafting. Having no idea what experiences this will elicit, I feel as giddy about this as a child on the morning of their birthday.
I love the feel of a pencil moving across a piece of paper. I often start my drafting process with pencil and paper. I need to emphasize the importance of the pencil. I hate writing with pen and avoid it at all costs. Sometimes I start with an empty computer screen. I write as much as I can, then I print it out and make notes to myself as to where I need to add more detail. I indicate the places where I need to change the wording and mark the paper all up with my pencil and then I return to the computer. I love how my paper looks when the margins are filled with additions to my paper. It makes me feel like I have accomplished something and that I am going to have so much information will enrich my paper. All I need to write is a quiet place to write and the will to buckle down and write.