Writing Process: On the Second Draft

I wrote my first draft five pages a day for a month. 47,538 words. No outline. I had a list of three characters and the name of their island. Stephen King calls that “pantsing.” In other words, my first draft was a rather messy and non-cohesive collection of stories. I wrote in seven perspectives across a thousand-mile-wide empire engulfed in a two-front conflict. Yet, speaking of conflict, I had little. Big improvements coming!

On the first note, I’m cutting out all but two perspectives. I really want to focus on showing details through one perspective per chapter, where the reader can bond with the character. Asking that with seven viewpoints is like asking for a livable wage as a teacher. You can do it, but it won’t pan out. Sticking to two is more reasonable. 

Draft one felt like a sprawling epic that had enough gaps for the entire Aurum Empire fleet to sail through. That’s a big collection of ships, mind you. I was trying to connect revolution on one side of the empire and a cult elsewhere. Now, I’m focusing on only one (and I won’t tell you which it is). In the future, I may explore the other scenario, but one feels like plenty for now. I can really dive into the intricacies of the functioning world now.

The biggest structural shift of all is my lack of conflict in the first draft. I’ve always avoided conflict, much like I do in real life. When I formed a new outline (sorry, Mr. King), I added a line at the bottom of every chapter: CONFLICT. A character wants something in each scene. There are two options: they get it with a heavy price, or they don’t get it. 

My second draft will be a huge adaptation from the first handwritten pages. Two perspectives, one story, conflict everywhere. Draft two is underway!