How do you write?

Drafts 1 and 2 are always from pure blank page. It’s much harder to revise when everything is laid out in front of you, in Times New Roman size 12 and 1.5 spacing, looking so finished. I write the first draft by hand, trying to get it out as fast as I can, and putting down as much material as possible, with no hesitation. You write the first draft like scaling a mountain – no looking down.

Then the typing begins. The typewriter is optional – I just happen to be a huge hipster. Using my handwritten draft as source, I let the writing find its natural structure. Scenes get rearranged. Some sentences get expanded in the typing, others get cut entirely. When I finish I finally have something readable, but not quite finished.

Drafts 3 onward, I don’t feel the need to start over. The structure is mostly sound at this point, so I feel comfortable darting from paragraph to paragraph, tuning rhythms that don’t quite work, and fixing inconsistencies in plotting and characterization. This goes on, indefinitely, maybe forever. Until the story feels complete. Until showing it to the world no longer feels like going out with your fly open.