Craft Chat A draft is finished. What's the ideal time to wait before going back in for the vital re-writes?

[MattScho]

The draft is finished, and it is now to put it away for some time, before jumping back in for revisions.
As an old editor used to tell me, writing isn't writing, re-writing is writing.
The idea is to let your mind clear, allowing you to return with fresh eyes to your work.
So what is that time span, in an ideal world.
Back in the days when we would actually put a draft into a drawer, the notion was months, and up to 6, right?
Now that the manuscript in a drawer is a icon on the desktop, it seems harder to ignore. I think it makes me a bit more convinced I need to jump back in, as quick as possible, or advisalbe.
But what is advisable?
What is too much time, and what is too little?
I'm thinking two weeks is a minimum, six months is an outside.
thoughts?

 

[Pamela Jo]

The ideal time is without doubt that moment that everything is fresh and you can hear the words like someone else wrote them. You're welcome.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Leave it longer, a few months, it's a shocker when you next look at it. Which is all to the good. Salutary. But now you have the fun part to do. And then burnishing. Meanwhile, congratulations on finishing your draft. That's a big moment in itself.

 

[RK Wallis]

Which story @MattScho? Congrats on finishing

I've tried many different resting times. IMHO (and I've done it), 2 weeks is too short even if you write something in between. You really need distance. Read some books. Tiffany Yates Martin? Intuitive Editing? She'll have some great pointers.

 

[MattScho]

Thanks, and not yet. In a couple days.

 

[E G Logan]

For me, two weeks is a lot too little. And I would probably go off, try not to think about it, and do something else. Dullish, maybe even paid-for work. Or sketch out an outline for a different book.

But that's me, and this is you. Horses for courses.

 

[Barbara]

I recently came back to a novel I finished 4 years ago. As I was reading, it felt seriously alien to the point I thought,

'Who the f*ck wrote this sh*t?'

I guess that was a bit too long to wait.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

For me, absolute minimum is two weeks, and that's generally not long enough. That said, I'm totally not patient enough to wait 6 months. LOL! I generally have 2-3 novels going at a time, each in different stages, so I can pick up another project while giving the first a rest before editing--then I don't notice how long I'm waiting, and I give my brain a good re-set by concentrating on something entirely different.

 

[James Charles]

I know some don't like Hemingway's final works, or writing, but he said the first draft is always shit.

 

[LJ Beck]

Woohoo Matt! Have you written THE END yet? CONGRATS!! Two little words worth so much.

I always have a bunch of notes I've made for myself along the way of a first draft to go back and fix. So after I write THE END, I will go back and do those right away (the day after a glass of celebratory bubbles) while I remember what I wanted to do. This invariably means I'm rewriting stuff. That'll take me 2-4 weeks depending on how messy my first pass is.

THEN I'll put it away. Actually, then I ask a few friends used to reading my first drafts for a read. That forces me to wait like 1-2 months before going back to it. These are the first notes I'll have gotten on this story, so it's always a nail-biting time.

That's been my strategy. THE END, bubbles, fix shit, send out, wait.... and start thinking about next story....

 

[Nikky Lee]

Woohoo Matt! Have you written THE END yet? CONGRATS!! Two little words worth so much.

I always have a bunch of notes I've made for myself along the way of a first draft to go back and fix. So after I write THE END, I will go back and do those right away (the day after a glass of celebratory bubbles) while I remember what I wanted to do. This invariably means I'm rewriting stuff. That'll take me 2-4 weeks depending on how messy my first pass is.

THEN I'll put it away. Actually, then I ask a few friends used to reading my first drafts for a read. That forces me to wait like 1-2 months before going back to it. These are the first notes I'll have gotten on this story, so it's always a nail-biting time.

That's been my strategy. THE END, bubbles, fix shit, send out, wait.... and start thinking about next story....

@LJ Beck Beck beat me too it. This is more or less my method too. First pass happens pretty close on the heels of the draft to fix the things I already know need fixing—e.g. the TK's I use in place of unimportant names, the plot hole I realised I created 3/4 through the draft etc. I call it First Draft 2.0. THEN I put it away for about a month before bringing it out to do another round of edits. This becomes the second draft and is usually what goes out to beta readers.

And while on the subject of drafts and editing, here's a meme I rediscovered this morning that I though you'd all enjoy:

 

[MattScho]

Thanks all!
I have finished, well kind of. I got impatient and the last 10 percent is template more than product.
But I need a couple weeks away, in any case.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Thanks all!
I have finished, well kind of. I got impatient and the last 10 percent is template more than product.
But I need a couple weeks away, in any case.

Absolutely. The chaos of family will make you retreat back to it, grateful for a world you can control. Con grats

 

[Ancora Imparo]

I recently came back to a novel I finished 4 years ago. As I was reading, it felt seriously alien to the point I thought,

'Who the f*ck wrote this sh*t?'

That's me every time, @Barbara

I'm with LJ, @MattScho – that's closer to how I do it. Each to their own.