A first draft is never final.
Two videos this past week offered solid reminders about the writing process — and that a writer’s technology needs to serve the process.
The first video highlighted the approach taken by a multiple New York Times bestselling author who has always embraced the latest technology.
The second featured two veteran authors who always use a typewriter — one machine a 50-year-old manual, the other an electric.
When the techie author begins his writing day, he makes a point to treat his previous day’s output as simply raw material. He subjects it to a refining fire so the gold emerges from the dross. Embracing technology, he writes fast, then revises intensely.
The typewriter authors take a different approach. The say their machines’ mechanical action forces them to write slowly, weighing each word. If they’re unsure of a spelling, they pause to check a dictionary.
For them, editing and revising means pencil on paper — crossing out items and writing fresh words between the lines. To create a clean draft, they consider and retype each word.
Low-tech writing encourages deliberate revision. But high-tech writing eases the process of intense editing and creating a clean second draft.
Whatever your process, avoid the temptation to run with your first draft. Professional writers revise.
