Lecture 21: Should I Write in Drafts?
It’s the only time in the creative process when you can fully experience
the thrill of discovery.
o Obviously, if you’ve created a detailed outline of your narrative
or you know how it will end, you won’t be experiencing it in
complete ignorance of what comes next, the way a reader would.o But even if you think you know where the story is going, you’re
likely to encounter any number of fruitful surprises while
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the outline you worked out in advance. These surprises may
lead you to change the outline or even throw it away. They may
also lead you to change the ending.o Even if you’re working from an outline or think you know what
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you are an explorer moving through territory that no one else
has ever crossed before.z :ULWLQJD¿UVWGUDIWFDQDOVREHIXQEHFDXVHD¿UVWGUDIWLVQRWVXSSRVHG
to be economical.
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longest draft, putting in everything you can think of, then
putting in some more. Especially at the beginning of a project,
you’re likely to be bursting with ideas and possibilities, and
it’s in your best interest to put as many of them down on paper
as you can, without worrying too much about plausibility,
consistency, or logic.o <RXGRQ¶WKDYHWRZRUU\DERXWZKHWKHU\RXU¿UVWGUDIWZLOOEH
interesting, because chances are that no one will ever see it
except yourself and a few trusted readers.o 7KHUHDVRQIRUZULWLQJDORQJ¿UVWGUDIWLVWZRIROG 7KH
more material you put into it, the more material you have to
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a process of exploration. You won’t know for certain what the
story is or who the characters are until you have the whole thing