Rough drafts, marginalia, and seeing a writer’s creative process!

One part of literature that really interests me is the number of drafts an author goes through before the final manuscript is ready for publication. This also includes any marginalia (notes made in the margin by the author) during the editing process added either by the author, editor, or both.

Why is this so interesting?

Because it gives the reader an inside glimpse into the creative process a writer goes through when developing a work of fiction. Scenes are cut, added, edited and characters can change drastically from one draft to another. Sentences might disappear with no explanation, or a sentence might be revised many times until the author feels the sentence is just right.

This idea of showing how a piece of art is constructed is not new. We see this in music all the time. Albums are often released with "bonus features" that allows you to listen to studio outtakes (my personal favorite), alternate versions of songs and alternate recording takes. This allows the listener to catch a glimpse inside the world of the musician and discover how a seemingly complex song can emerge from a simple idea.

Releasing drafts of a story for public consumption

This is an idea that has been swimming around in my head for a while now: Letting your readers see each draft as it is completed. They can track the progress of your story or novel, and for the really gutsy writer, even let their readers comment on their drafts.

Obviously, the easiest way to do this would be with ebooks, using a site like Feedbooks, where you can easily convert your writing into a convenient digital format.

Once the final draft is complete, you can bundle all the drafts into an ebook so readers can catch a glimpse of your creative process.

Not every writer will embrace this idea

Writers are usually a shy and introverted bunch. They want to write their stories and novels, release them into the world and hope the critics are nice to them. So the idea releasing different drafts of your work to the public would leave a bad taste in the mouths of many writers.

Letting your readers see your creative process is showing a very vulnerable part of yourself. What if you post a rough draft of a story you really like and are enthusiastic about, only to find everyone hates it? Would that kill your motivation for continuing on with the project? Except for the most thicked-skinnned writers, it probably would kill most people’s motivation.

I used to have a hard-and-fast rule of never letting anyone read any short story I was working on until it was finished. Period. Why? Because I found when people glanced at sections of a rough draft, they often asked annoying questions like; what is that supposed to mean (not the best example, but it gives you an idea)?

I’m now re-thinking that rule, especially as I ponder the large collection of short stories I have written that is currently sitting in my desk drawer. Will I "publish" them into ebook format and make them available on this blog? I’m not tell, you’ll just have to wait and see.

Your thoughts? Would you ever let the reading public read rough drafts of your work? Do you find the idea interesting about seeing a glimpse of the creative process of another writer? Give us your opinion and leave a comment below!

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• Getting Your Creative Juices Flowing!
• Real creativity is in the editing!
• Student Arrested for Creative Writng Essay

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