Sparse Drafting
Why it works for me and why I'm sticking with it
The quality of my writing is not measured by the quantity. I would always rather put down fewer words as long as I can see my story taking shape.
With this style of drafting, I’ll admit the shape is skeletal at first. Draft zero (the one no one gets to see except me) is some mixture between my outline/prewriting notes and the bare bones of a first draft.
I think I adopted this style because, for a long time in between occasional bursts of creativity and fanfiction that has been intentionally wiped from the internet (not spicy, just very dark), I mostly functioned as an editor rather than a writer. In college, I spent one semester writing articles for our newspaper before I was promoted to an editorial position for the Arts/Entertainment column, and I loved it. Whether I was gently revising freshman articles that read more like diary entries than news reports or looking over papers for my friends, I loved the feeling of making every word count, and the satisfaction of watching the final product emerge with each set of corrections. I blame these experiences for my habit of ‘underwriting’. During that first pass through, I want every word, every scene to contribute to the plot that’s unfolding.
I have a plot-heavy obsession, mostly because I know it’s a particular weakness of mine. Most of my early creative writing revolved around dialogue and character sketches. I studied acting for a long time, the goal was always to know your character inside and out so for years, plot felt like an inconvenience. I was always more interested in what was going on in character relationships and inside their heads. That is, until I sat down to properly finish my second novel (the one that’s coming soon, FOREST OF THE FORGOTTEN TALES). Then I realized I had to learn how to plot, and it had to be my first priority; otherwise, knowing myself, I would get lost in the intricacies of character development and world-building.
I know that overwriting is a more common issue. Online, I constantly see writers struggling to whittle down their behemoth manuscripts into something that can be more easily digested. Whole chapters and sometimes minor characters are cut for the sake of refinement.
But for me, refinement comes with adding material, putting flesh on the bones, and detail into the environment. For reference, draft zero of FOREST was 54,000 words and the final draft is currently a little over 90,000. Once I started focusing on the environment in FOREST, I spent days researching trees. Figuring out the differences between woods and forests, watching videos, finding reference images and even interviewing my husband to get a feel for the sights, sounds, and smells that come with tramping through low bushes and dense woods. (I’m not a very outdoorsy person). If I’d started there, the research would have swallowed me whole, and I’d probably still be avoiding my plot.
The real reason no one gets to read draft zero is that it hasn’t become a proper story yet. It looks more like:
The main character in this scene encounters or enables Plot Point A, then transition scene (or sometimes I just write NEED TRANSITION and I figure it out later) which leads into Plot Point B, introducing a supporting character, etc.
You get the idea. I also try to use draft zero to figure out the perspective of the story overall and the voices of the characters. Which usually results in a lot of dialogue-heavy scenes that still have my beta readers asking a draft or so later, “Where are they in this chapter?” Oops. Don’t worry, environment and atmosphere are usually part of my second round of revisions. But once I get there my sparse draft starts to fill out then I love using each set of revisions to discover new things, to find moments that need expansions and character quirks that reveal themselves as I get to know them better. For reference, draft zero of FOREST was 54,000 words and the final draft is currently a little over 90,000.
Whether you are a plotter or a discovery writer, you probably fall somewhere on the spectrum, but don’t discount the sparse drafters. Our process looks a little different, and we probably spend more time outlining than drafting, but our stories are rich, layered, and thoughtful. And I guarantee each word has earned its place on the page.