Book rough draft example how to#
Book rough draft example trial#

You know what you planned to talk about, and you want your articulation, punctuation, rhythm, and descriptions to be perfect. After you have brainstormed ideas for your subject matter and then completed your detailed outline, it’s time to begin your prose. King’s standard process takes two drafts and a final polish.įor Stephen King, the writing process is an extremely important part of writing.Any author will tell you: Writing is a long and arduous process.

Use however many revision cycles you’re comfortable with.

This can be your next draft, or even your final draft.

Incorporate the feedback as you like (more on this next).

After you finish, give the second draft to a small group of readers you trust.

Once you define your theme, add scenes and shape the story to strengthen the theme.

Fix the small specific issues and polish your big picture ideas.

Go back through and revise for your second draft.

What is the story about? Is there a theme? Are there recurring elements? Is the story coherent?

Also ask yourself big-picture questions.

Note fixes for specific issues, like grammar and usage, deleting adverbs, plot holes, and character motivations.

Read the draft in one sitting, if possible. By this point, it should feel oddly familiar yet unrecognizable, like the work of someone else who writes suspiciously like you. The point is to get distance from the draft, so you can be a more objective critic when you revise.

During this time, resist the temptation to read your draft.

King suggests taking at least 6 weeks off from your draft, working on shorter pieces like novellas or short stories.

When you’re ready, go back to writing, but write about something totally different from what you just finished drafting.

When you finish the first draft, give the story to anyone who’s been dying to read your work, but demand that they not discuss your writing with you until you’re ready to.

Write as quickly as you comfortably can-this keeps your enthusiasm high and limits self-doubt from creeping in.

Write and finish the first draft with no help or advice from anyone else-their well-meaning words can trigger self-doubt (if critical) or make you complacent (if positive).

Here’s Stephen King’s writing process, from beginning to end. Stephen King’s writing process depends on this feedback. You’ll take in feedback from people you trust and grapple with reconciling their feedback with your vision.

Book rough draft example how to#

You’ll think about your readers and how to make at least some of them happy. When you rewrite, you need to open your door. (As we’ll cover soon, there’s one exception-your ideal reader.) By and large, don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Metaphorically, write the first draft of your story just for you. This is part of Stephen King’s writing process. Literally, closing your door helps you focus and block out the outside world. When you write your first draft, King suggests that you close your door. Stephen King: Writing Process and Revision Read more about Stephen King’s writing process and how to approach your revision. By studying Stephen King’s writing process, you can learn how to craft your writing process, and improve your own writing. Stephen King writes a lot, and has a finely tuned writing process. What is Stephen King’s writing process? How do the writing and revision processes differ?

Book rough draft example trial#

Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading. This article is an excerpt from the Shortform summary of 'On Writing' by Stephen King.