11: Drafting and Revising

Read More Stories and Study Them

The best way to improve is to read as many stories as you can and appreciate what makes them special. The classic response is to read more books, but you can also find stories in films, shows, video games, and by simply listening to other people. However you choose to read more stories, it’s important to read and absorb a lot of them. Each story is a unique experience, filled with different interpretations and viewpoints of life. The more stories you read, the more experiences you obtain.

On top of reading more, find the stories you like the best and study them. Ask yourself, “What makes them so good?” Perhaps you can read more from that author or read works from critics who study that author. More importantly, understand what core aspects you enjoy from these stories and see if you can incorporate them into your own writing. This does not mean plagiarizing but learning certain techniques that the author used and creating new works using those techniques. How does the author develop their characters? How exactly is their plot paced? Learning the answers to these questions not only makes you appreciate the difficult task it is to create a story, but it will also improve your skills as a writer.

Read More Books on Storytelling

There are so many great works on storytelling, and it would be a disservice not to mention at least a few of them in this guide. If you are interested in learning more about this craft, consider purchasing these books or borrowing them from your local library:

• Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting — Robert McKee
• Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen — Robert McKee
• Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need — Blake Snyder
• Your Screenplay Sucks!: 100 Ways to Make It Great — William M Akers
• Playwriting: How to Write for the Theater —Bernard Grebanier
• On Writing Well — William Zinsser

Write Multiple Drafts

It is absolutely unrealistic to think that your first draft of a story will be your best draft. Oftentimes, it is the weakest, and that’s a good thing. That’s because with each new draft, your story should improve. Every time you go back and modify your work, the end result will be a much stronger piece. Imagine the process like chiseling marble to make a statue. The sculptor cannot make a realistic figure on their first go-around. Instead, the first draft is a bulky representation of the final product. However, with each new draft, the sculptor will move away from the large chisels and more toward precise and intimate ones. The final draft may only consist of polishes and light touch-ups.

Marble statue of the Greek God Hermes - Public Domain. This statue wasn’t completed in its first draft.

Writing drafts in storytelling works in a similar way. The first draft is rough, unpolished, and is simply a concept, not the finished product. The hardest part of writing a story is completing the first draft. If you manage to do that, congratulations, you have completed something that most people in the world struggle to accomplish. However, your work is not done yet. Your second and third drafts may involve significant alterations, but they should ultimately improve the piece. The following drafts will become less time consuming because they should require less modifications. The final draft should be like a tiny chisel to a statue—only minor adjustments.

Below is an example of how your draft schedule may look. It could take more drafts than this, but the point here is to explain how each new draft should progress from big to smaller changes:

• First Draft – Focus on just finishing the story. Don’t look back and make adjustments (you can do that later).
• Second Draft – Take a short break, almost forgetting what you originally wrote. With a new set of eyes, reread your work. Focus on making sure the plot is cohesive, expanding sections that need more clarification, and shortening parts that are too bloated.
• Third Draft – Focus on the flow and essence of the piece. Is the theme present? Do you think the message is getting across yet? How does it sound when read aloud? Do you think the audience will be able to follow your theme?
• Fourth Draft – Focus more on the word choice and technical issues. It is only at this draft should you focus on whether that “comma is in the right place” or something like that. Sure, you can fix obvious mistakes as you go, but don’t fixate on grammar in previous drafts if you are just going to make corrections to that part anyway.
• Firth Draft – Polish the work, tidy up minor mistakes, and revel in your success. You completed a story. That alone is an accomplishment—whether or not anyone reads it.

Take Criticism

The worst type of author is one who refuses to listen to criticism from others. These authors have an arrogance about them, and their stories will naturally have flaws as a result. An attack on their work is like an attack on them. They may choose to completely ignore the criticism or aggressively defend their decisions. However they proceed, their stories rarely elevate to good works. Even if an author is talented, their refusal to listen to good criticism will often hold them back from making spectacular stories.

Receiving criticism is hard at first. For some, their stories may have taken months or years to write. Then, a person may come along to say that they must completely change some sections, or maybe hint that the story isn’t quite good. This can be incredibly discouraging, and for many, it is simply easier to ignore these points. However, most people who critique stories have your best interest in heart. They are reading it without a deep attachment, and they can provide fresh perspectives that you may have never noticed. Granted, not all criticism from others is useful, but most of it will be of value. These critics may tell you exactly how to make your piece better, so why are you refusing to listen? Which is more important, to improve the story or to preserve your ego?

The more you listen to feedback from others, the easier it will be to accept these notes—however harsh they may be. Eventually, you may look forward to criticism like a long-awaited package arriving at your door. Be sure to thank those who have taken their valuable time to read your stories. Professional editors can be expensive, so often your first critics will be your friends and family who do so out of pure generosity. Thank them for their time.

Writing with AI

Perhaps the most controversial piece of advice, which I deliberately saved for last, is to work with AI to improve your writing. The key phrase is working with AI, not having AI write your entire story for you and claiming it as your own. A calculator is a useful tool to crunch numbers, and it can be pigheaded to refuse assistance from a calculator for solving very complex equations. AI tools can aid in generating new ideas, offering feedback, checking for errors, and helping overall to improve your piece. In addition, the responses from AI tools are near instant. Human feedback will often provide more personable criticism and notes, and that can be an invaluable resource. However, ignoring the convenience and strengths of AI when it comes to writing can also be a missed opportunity.