First draft
Type out 968 words in paragraphs that bounce from topic to topic and are only vaguely, loosely, if you were high on hallucinogenics this would make sense, affiliated with each other.
Think: “It’s possible this is brilliant!” and even though it’s coming out in inchoate chunks, believe your ability to rearrange it later will save you.
After 45-180 more minutes of writing: decide definitively, “This is trash.”
Second draft
Spend 47 minutes polishing up the first three paragraphs of the sixteen you wrote yesterday.
Run out of writing time and realize those intro paragraphs will likely need to be cut.
3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th draft
Repeat second draft steps
7th draft
Stare.
Insert, then remove, then re-insert, then re-remove one comma.
Finish your cold coffee.
8th draft
Write, focusing on sensory images and description.
Clean up dialogue, make it sound natural. Debate the merits of using quotes (when, you admit, you may not actually remember what was said verbatim, making sure to take time to contemplate Veracity and your moral compass til ready to head back to what you were originally thinking about— ) vs. semi-quotes, like the way Mary Karr uses in Lit, one of the best books ever written. But then remember (!) you’re not famous and no one cares how you use quote marks.
Feel confident the first 3/4ths of your essay is in decent shape since you cut most of it.
Realize the last 1/4th is more of an idea than actually written.
Lament.
9th draft - part A
Print pages, make >1000 edits on paper.
Rearrange entire paragraphs using arrows and symbols you will not remember tomorrow.
Cut sentences that are clever, but don’t actually serve the story.
Cry.
9th draft - part B
Transfer all your changes into the digital document and make sure this takes longer than you expected.
Ask: What am I really trying to say here?
10th draft - part A
Stare.
Re-edit first three paragraphs.
10th draft - part B
Make tenses cohesive.
Say what you really want to say, despite your inner critic telling you to keep it safe. Feel both bad and proud about what you’ve been bold enough to write.
Eat some chocolate.
Pick up your kids a little late from school.
10th draft - part C
Send to a writer friend(s) who will give you honest feedback.
Brace yourself for their edits by telling them you think it’s trash and apologize for wasting their time.
11th-30th draft
Receive feedback graciously, make almost all the changes your editor friends suggest, reject only the one(s) you couldn’t live with yourself if you did.
Continue to rearrange sentences and paragraphs. Make efforts to purposefully vary their structure.
Realize you used “arrive” three times in one paragraph. (!)
Use a thesaurus and a dictionary. Change verbs--Active! Strong! Direct!
Wallow in the fact you never made flashcards of SAT vocabulary words.
Make flashcards of 50 SAT words.
Decide about that comma*
Read piece out loud, catch repeating words and ideas and phrases. (You used simply four times in that run-on sentence!)
Debate if that “that” should or should not be there. (No!)
Rewrite every sentence that has “as I” in it.
Ask: To the best of my ability, did I say what I wanted to say?
Repeat drafts to infinity until the answer to the above question is yes.
Or you hit your deadline.
Or you can’t look at it for one more second.
Turn in to editor with a caveat that it might be terrible.
* ask a friend about the comma
My favorite - sending my work to writing friends and telling them, "it's probably trash! Sorry for wasting your time!"
All too familiar. Thank gosh for a second set of eyes! And reading out loud. Damn those tenses!