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Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

What are First Drafts, Second Drafts, etc.?

Asked by: Michelle Fisher

What is first draft and second draft?

First Draft: This is also known as the discovery draft, where all writers write with the objective of getting their ideas on the page. Second Draft: The beginning of the editing phase. Also known as the structural edit, where you work on the global story arc, fill in the plot holes, omit and/or rewrite where needed.

What are the three parts of a draft?

Every essay or paper is made up of three parts:

  • introduction.
  • body.
  • conclusion.

What are the types of drafts in writing?

  • Draft #2: The Structure Draft. This is where you look at the structure of your project. …
  • Draft #3: The Rough Draft. This is the point at which you have an actual manuscript, something you can legitimately call a “work-in-progress.” …
  • Draft #4: The Surgery Draft. …
  • Draft #5: The Last Draft. …
  • More on the writing process.
  • What is a 1st draft?

    A first draft, also known as a rough draft, is the very first version of a piece of writing—a rough sketch of what your finished work will be like. A first draft is written after the outline is finished and is usually done without much editing.

    What is the second draft?

    The Second Draft is a peer-reviewed publication of the Legal Writing Institute dedicated to sharing ideas related to teaching legal research and writing.

    What is a third draft?

    After some time has passed from the second draft, the writer can readdress the story from a more objective viewpoint. The third draft is not another rewrite, but rather it is editing. The best way to approach a third draft is to change formats.

    How do you write a first draft?

    8 steps to writing your first draft

    1. Outline your core topic. …
    2. Identify your audience. …
    3. Plan with pre-writing. …
    4. Make a mess and clean it up in later. …
    5. Avoid adding minute details. …
    6. Start writing without engaging your inner critic. …
    7. Don’t stop to do more research. …
    8. Seek appropriate feedback.

    What is a first draft of a research paper?

    Preparing a first draft is where you test your outline and elaborate on the ideas to support your thesis. It is not the final product. A properly formatted title page is very quick and easy to do. It’s the first page of your paper, so a blatant mistake here will create a bad impression, now who would want that?

    What are the steps of drafting?

    The Three Steps of Drafting

    1. Writing the First Draft. Think your ideas out loud before writing them down so that the thoughts are expressed clearly. …
    2. Re-Drafting. After completing the first draft, wait for a few days before editing it. …
    3. Writing the Final Draft.



    How do you write a second draft?

    If you want to know how to write a second draft, the following writing tips can help:

    1. Take a break, then go through your draft with fresh eyes. …
    2. Understand your chaos. …
    3. Break it up into separate goals. …
    4. Track your narrative. …
    5. Don’t proofread until the end.

    How do you write a second draft essay?

    Stated succinctly, clean up the clutter: complete all sentences and expand a little on all ideas that weren’t fully elaborated on. Take a closer look at the order your arguments are organized in and see whether they hold together. This means the essay should flow from one point to another in a convincing manner.

    Why are first drafts important?

    Drafting helps students expand upon, clarify, and modify their initial plans and ideas, and it helps them organize their content into a meaningful sequence or flow.

    What is another word for first draft?

    Rough Draft synonyms



    In this page you can discover 6 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for rough draft, like: outline, blueprint, sketch, plan, first draft and draft.

    What is the difference between first draft and final draft?

    What is the difference between the first draft and the final draft of a story or novel? The first draft contains everything you wanted to say. The final draft contains everything you needed to say—those things that are essential to the story.

    How long is a first draft?

    How Long Is a Good First Draft? First drafts are as long as they need to be. As a rule of thumb, a short non-fiction book is typically around 20,000 words, while a more traditional non-fiction book weighs in around 60,000 words.

    What is an example of a draft?

    The definition of draft is something that is used for pulling, drawn from a cask or is in a rough form. An example of draft is a horse that pulls a beer truck. An example of draft is a beer on tap. An example of draft is a book without any corrections made.

    How do you write a first draft quickly?

    Check out these ten tips to write faster.



    1. Sketch an outline. If you have a structure in mind, even a loose one, you’ll improve your writing speed. …
    2. Do your research in advance. …
    3. Just say ‘No’ to distractions. …
    4. Begin with the end in mind. …
    5. Write a messy first-draft…fast. …
    6. Set a time limit. …
    7. Reward yourself. …
    8. Learn to type faster.

    How many drafts are in a novel?

    With all this mind, there are generally four drafting steps to write a novel. Within each stage, writers may go through two or three separate drafts, sometimes more. Here’s how to follow these four stages to make your novel the best it can be.

    What is a zero draft?

    A Zero Draft is your first attempt to assemble thoughts related to your research topic or question. It is a more or less unstructured piece of writing that flows quickly from your own mind as you reflect upon your topic, your questions, and your reading. A Zero Draft is focused free writing or the very next step.

    How many pages is a first draft?

    The first draft is tough because this is where most of the writing takes place; in fact, the first draft is where so many drop out. In the first draft, you start with nothing – sometimes not even a title – and end up with a 200- or 300-page (maybe even more) draft.

    What is a zero draft novel?

    With a draft zero, you don’t draft a story in full. Instead, you write a draft that blocks the major beats in each scene. No need for beautiful prose or full description. You simply state what will occur in each scene so you can later review and refine your plot before fleshing out your story in full.



    What is a skeleton draft?

    noun. a basic or minimum draft or outline. I only submitted a skeleton draft.

    What does final draft mean?

    Definition of final draft

    : a final version of something (such as a document) usually after a lot of editing and rewriting The final draft is due tomorrow.

    How do you fast draft a novel?

    The Art of Fast-Drafting Your Novel

    1. Brainstorm every aspect of your story. …
    2. Know it well. …
    3. Define your goal. …
    4. Set expectations. …
    5. Small increments, multiple times a day. …
    6. No self-editing. …
    7. Make a list of additional research. …
    8. Writing sprints are your friend.

    What is fast drafting?

    If you think the term “fast-drafting” is pretty self-explanatory, you’d be correct. Fast-drafting is quite literally the process of writing the first draft of your novel (or short story, novella, etc.) as quickly as possible. No hesitation, no excuses, no editing-as-you-go.



    How do you write faster on NaNoWriMo?

    If you’ve downloaded our nifty NaNoWriMo calendar then you know that by the end of today, November 3, you should have already written 5,000 words.
    3 Steps to Write Faster

    1. Step One: Don’t Look at the Words You’re Writing. …
    2. Step Two: Focus on the Feeling of Writing. …
    3. Step Three: Later, Go Back and Edit!