In “Go Long and Cut, or Write Short and Add?” (The Writer, 01/14/21), Libby Cudmore asks several writers to share their approach to creating first drafts. Cudmore defines the two methods as the “vomit,” in which the writer puts everything onto the page and cuts later, and the “skeleton,” in which they lay out the main characters and plot before adding details on the next round. The authors she interviews are split in their approach. I’m definitely a “vomit” rather than a “skeleton” first-drafter, with some caveats. For me, revision primarily means cutting or “killing my darlings.” By the time I’ve finished the first draft and go back to the beginning, I can judge when a scene is overdeveloped, redundant, or even irrelevant because a character or plot point has emerged more organically later or taken a different turn. That said, by the time I’m three-quarters of the way into the first draft, I start to fret about its burgeoning length and begin to write tighter. Also, because the narrative is so well established by then, I no longer feel an urge to cram in the back story. Basically, that “vomit” first draft is me talking to myself, getting my thoughts on the page so I don’t lose them. I also keep a “Parking Lot” file where I jot down ideas for later chapters, or things to remember when I revise earlier ones. I’m a child of the 60s, when we “let it all hang out.” As I age, I’m more selective about what hangs out and what remains tucked in. The same can be said of my manuscripts. For more of my thoughts on writing, see REFLECTIONS.
