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Rant: I read a book on writing and it said most first drafts are 40% longer than the final version
Found that in a craft book from the library, and it made me feel way better about my own messy 80,000 word draft. I always thought I was just bad at editing, but maybe that's just how it works. How much do you usually cut from a first draft to get to the final story?
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coleman.christopher1mo agoMost Upvoted
Forty percent? That's brutal.
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viola_cooper621mo ago
Forty percent seems high to me. My first drafts are usually pretty lean because I focus on getting the main plot down. I might add a few scenes later for character depth, but I rarely cut huge chunks. The editing for me is more about fixing sentences and making the dialogue sound right. Maybe it depends on whether you're an overwriter or an underwriter from the start.
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