Not Even a First Draft – The One-Half Draft

I am in the middle of the first draft of my second novel. For my first novel, I was afraid to go out of order, so I worked my way through the book from beginning to end. When I started the second book, I was brave enough to start in the middle with a scene that interests me and just write what I see and hear. I’ve since been hopping around my plot outline from scene to scene, capturing mostly internal and external dialogue.

The First Draft – 2D Cardboard Scenes

When I write a first draft, it contains the important parts of the scene, but it’s not fully formed. If the final draft needs to a be 3D representation of what happened, my first draft is me erecting cardboard cutouts of the scene. They are the right shapes in the right places, but it’s never going to fool you into thinking it’s 3D.

Just Whispers of the First Draft

In this second book, I have several thousand words of text, but the scenes right now aren’t even cardboard cut outs. It’s less than that. It’s me eavesdropping on the characters as they think or argue during the most important scenes. There’s no staging. There’s very minimal setting. It’s whispers of what my book will be like.

Is it possible to be less than a first draft? I think this is my one-half draft.

I’m hoping to find out who the characters are and what happens in this book with less commitment on my part. The show will begin with only the most essential pieces. The movie in my mind will be clear before I do the work to describe everything for the reader.

Will it Make for a Better First Draft?

Writing out of order no longer scares me. I am confident I can sew together pieces without a problem. I’ve done it several times when revising my first book. I’m curious when I will feel like it’s time to actually write complete scenes. Do I need to spy on the beginning, middle and end before I plump up the first scene? Will I even have a first scene when it’s time to give this book to my critique group?

I’m curious what my first draft will look like once I get past the one-half draft. Will the first draft be next level good because of the one-half draft? Will it still be, as Anne Lamott describes, a shitty first draft?

Random Author comment: I just met Anne Lamott yesterday, and she signed my copy of Bird by Bird.

Just listening in to dialogue and thoughts has been more pleasant than trying to build 3D cardboard sets. It doesn’t feel like pulling teeth. The setting is the same as book one, so I already have a visual picture of it.

Building my Mental Picture

The movie in my mind is critical to making the 3D second draft possible. Maybe that’s the function of the one-half draft. I’m telling myself the story, so next I will be able to tell the world.

With my first book, I needed to slice and dice scenes and the plot outline. I wonder if a detailed outline of my one-half draft would help me get some development feedback on the plot before I write it. I would much rather hack apart the beads I’ve strung together than a fully formed second draft.

I am curious to see where this process will lead. When I find out, I will let you know.

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