I was reading another Author's blog post yesterday where he was describing how one of his rooms was full, almost floor to ceiling, of versions of manuscripts. I thought to myself - 'Wow! I'd hate to have to live like that.' But then I got to thinking a little of how each of us go about the writing process. We're all different. Why is the way I do things any better than the way someone else works? It's not.
Artists each work in their own way and it's that uniqueness that makes us artists. I would classify myself as an 'ordered artist.' That is to say given a set of parameters to work within (boundaries if you like), I can then express my artistic self. However some artists, like this author, need an environment of chaos to survive. This author described how each numbered version of his manuscript occupied a portion of the bedroom floor and how he couldn't bring himself to throw any old versions away. It was as if each version was an artistic masterpiece in its own right. Me? I chuck 'em. All I'm interested in is the finished product. How I get to the finished product is, to a certain extent, irrelevant.
How about you? How do each of you work? Do you work off of the printed page, or do you work solely on a computer? Do you keep every old version or do you just keep a latest and move on? It's an interesting question and one I'd like to hear from you about.
But just remember, we are all unique. There is no right way or wrong way. The important thing is to actually arrive at a 'final version,' one that makes it to becoming a real book. After all, as artists, we need to show off a finished product, and not merely leave everything as a work in progress.
Have a great day...
I don't keep old versions of finished manuscripts. I edit the original through once on the computer, then once on printed paper, re-input the paper edits into the computer, and then go through it again. This is my editing plan. I do keep archives of story ideas and manuscripts that I started but did not get very far on. This was a very interesting post, thanks for sharing. I totally agree that we should work towards the final product, but I think the method we use to get there is important because the finished product is supposedly the best version. Thus the process we use to make it the best must have some importance. Perhaps, I shall write a blog post on this...or, at least, archive these observations.
ReplyDeleteI am on the fourth and final revisions of editing my first novel. I make my edits of that round, print them out, three-hole punch them, and put them in a binder. Because I am a full-time professor and I have a busy schedule, I bring it everywhere with me and I edit as I go. Whenever I have spare time, I edit. Then, I make that round of edits on the computer. I toss the old version and only work with the new one. As for the pages of the former, edited copy? They become paper at the bottom of my parakeet cage.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I'm an admitted pack rat...I mean, draft keeper. :) I can't help it. I feel like it represents me in a way. But then again, I'm less interested in typed drafts. I never keep those. I ALWAYS keep what is handwritten (just recently finished my first draft of my novel, all handwritten.) I'm not sure why the difference, but I never throw out handwritten stuff!
ReplyDeleteI might do some work in a notebook, but not very much. I do most of my writing on my computer, and then I delete the older manuscripts as I get onto a new one (not that I've made a lot of those yet). I have kept a lot of what I've handwritten in the past, but that's just because I haven't typed it up yet (and I'm not sure if that stuff is ever going to get typed). I'm too paranoid about looking like a hoarder anymore than I already do look to keep a bunch of notebooks around. lol
ReplyDeletei have a whole bunch of them - the worst part is when someone picks up an older one and strats reading and you're like 'no, no thats not it thats and old version its better now!'
ReplyDeleteI print out each version, work on edits on paper, transfer to computer and use the paper copy to light the fire - the old stuff is still on the computer if I have a sudden longing for it.
ReplyDeleteAnd am beginning to think old notebooks need a cull. Do I really care what I did in 2002? (Except the travel diaries - I can't get rid of those. Even buying them was an adventure, in countries where books and paper are precious.
I write first drafts in notebooks so I keep those. There are character backgrounds, sketches, maps, flow charts of plot points and story lines, grocery lists, phone number of that guy I met in Las Vegas, lots of margine notes such as 'pick up pace' and 'research this', and so on. But once I type it into my computer, I only keep one previous draft version and the current version. Also, if I really love a scene, but it doesn't work with the flow of the story so I cut it, I will keep the scene in an X-file. I put an X in front of the name when I save it. That way I don't feel so bad cutting it.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I enjoyed reading it. I love being reminded how different people are. Really supports the idea of an infinite universe in my mind, which matches the power of imagination and also the number of possibilities there are out there. All a good reminder to people, never to give up. Find the method that works best for you and stick with it.
ReplyDeleteI was going to tell you I keep too many, but...WOW! I'm far from being that bad!
ReplyDeleteI always start out with a notebook and a pen,sometimes just writing the first or second chapter, sometimes just the beginning of a chapter or the ending then I move to the computer and normally just write the rest there, but sometimes, if I'm sick of sitting at the computer but still wanting to get the words out, I'll grab the notebook and write some more in there. After I've finished typing the first draft into the computer, I will print it and hand it off to a local beta reader and sometimes it's easier to edit and make revisions on the printed copy.
ReplyDeleteI was told by a creative writing teacher that to get in touch with emotions in writing it's best to use a pen or pencil, it creates a physical link with what you are writing, utilising the right side of the brain which is the creative side (left side more logical). Don't know how true that is for others but it worked for me, which is my preferred method of writing. Write first, type afterwards until the process is more settled. In other words, when a writer gets used to the creative process it is then possible to use the keyboard without losing the right-side-brain link. Maybe hokum, maybe not. As for finished versions, sometimes the early stuff makes me cringe so I chuck it out.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, if your work was ever "stolen", then the thief would not have the benefit of the proof of a box full of revisions and redrafts.
ReplyDeleteI keep electronic versions of MS as I go at various time intervals, and also when I make a big decision, such as to change POV. Sometimes there are such dramatic changes from one version to the next, that some or all of an earlier MS forms the seed of another novel.
ReplyDelete