Does Your 1st Draft End Too Long or Too Short?

[joyce]

I am at the last few pages of my first draft of my second novel and it will end around 78,000 words. My intial goal was to end around 85,000, which I will as soon as I finish editing. I read so many posts where the person ends up with 150,000 words and ends up cutting a bunch of it out. It seems I always end up short of my projected goal but reach it or exceed it once I cut out the crap and add to parts that need a little more jazzing up. It seems I read more posts of people having to cut than having to add. I was just wondering what was you experience with this. Am I out of the norm with this?

[kuwisdelu]

You're normal. Everyone's different. I sometimes end up having to cut. I sometimes end up having to add. As long as you're happy with the final product, it doesn't matter which way you go.

[Siddow]

Short. I tend to plow through the plot. I guess my first drafts are really just 250-page outlines. I've noticed that I tend to start subplots and forget to close them. Sigh.

[ChaosTitan]

Lately, my first drafts are ending up just about right.

[jordijoy]

my first effort--a western romance--ended very long I was told (by several agents) for a first timer(around 150 thousand) My first effort is now around 119thousand and holding. Maybe after I finish my fantasy I revisit it for the upteen time...

My second MS came in around 78 or 79 thousand and I was told to add til I came in at around 85. I did and it told. Don't know if the one had anything to do with the other....
More likely the changing of agents did the trick.

[stormie]

Too short. Just like me. No. Wait. I'm vertically challenged.

Seriously, as I get toward the end, I write faster and my thoughts race. My first drafts are always short at the end.

[Hobbes]

Mine are always short. In my "real" job I write to a very specific amount and have to get to the point without any fluff. It seems to have had some effect on my manuscripts. But really, length shouldn't really make a difference as long as the story gets told.

[Straka]

I'm always too long. My second manuscript was 626 pages (single space) so doing that math... carrying the one... that's 313,000 words.

Since that one I've forced myself to outline the plots out first, keeps me focused.

[joyce]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience with this. It just seemed so many people were too long that I was starting to wonder was I abnormal.

[C. L. Richardson]

You're definitely not alone. I'm struggling with the same thing right now. =P

[Stormhawk]

Always too short, so I just decided to move to a shorter format.

[ClaudiaGray]

I tend to run long, but OTOH, both b/c I work with an outline and simply due to practice, I've learned to tell fairly early on when I'm in length trouble and can usually edit as I go. (Usually.)

[kuwisdelu]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience with this. It just seemed so many people were too long that I was starting to wonder was I abnormal.

If you really want to feel better--I've developed the bad habit of writing at the abnormal and utterly unsaleable length of 20-30k words.

[reenkam]

I usually keep the same word count within a couple thousand words, at the very most.

[TrickyFiction]

Mine run short. I get too excited to slow down when I'm composing the first draft. :)

[underthecity]

Perfectly normal. My goal was 300 pages, 60,000 words. I ended with almost 400 pages and 100,000 words.

And I've added 15,000 words since beginning revision because many of the scenes were underdeveloped in the first draft and needed fleshing out. And I'm still not done. I'm afraid my second draft will be 500 pages long.

Whoops. (Oh, but what a great story it is.:) )

allen

[Linda Adams]

I tend to run short. I had to add 15K to my last project. In my case, it's left over from writing short stories, and I tend to simply not put stuff in that I should have thought of.

[James D. Macdonald]

It doesn't matter if your first draft is "too short" or "too long." What matters is that your final draft is the right length for the story you have to tell.

[Just Jack]

If you really want to feel better--I've developed the bad habit of writing at the abnormal and utterly unsaleable length of 20-30k words.

Couldnt you turn that into a novella or something? I dont know, im not an agent....

[stormie]

It doesn't matter if your first draft is "too short" or "too long." What matters is that your final draft is the right length for the story you have to tell.
Yes, but sometimes it's nice to have affirmation that how you write that first draft is okay--that you're not way out in left-field--or just to have a discussion.

[Sage]

My first non-fanfic was way long, especially for YA. My novels since have all been too short.

[FennelGiraffe]

There are several factors that affect first draft length. Some make it run long; some make it run short. It depends on the individual writer's quirks. It's what revision is for.

1. A common (but not universal) first draft issue is bloated, wordy prose. Even if every scene, every line of dialog, every bit of description is necessary to the story, some writers' wordcount can be cut 10%, 20%, or more by pure sentence-level tightening. Compare Walter began to wish that he had asked Melissa whether she would go out to dinner with him. to Walter wished he had asked Melissa to dinner.

2. Sometimes a first draft contains larger chunks that need cutting. Excessive description, long narrative explanations of backstory, even whole scenes that don't advance the story. Some writers put everything they think of into the first draft and decide later which parts are unnecessary.

3. Other writers get so wrapped up in getting the story down that they focus only on "what happened". They leave out description, their dialog is all talking heads, etc. In extreme cases, the first draft may be more of a detailed outline than a novel. Those writers have a lot of fleshing-out to do later. A very sparse first draft might gain wordcount by 30% or better in revision.

4. Too much telling and not enough showing can make wordcount run low, as well. Compare Susan was angry. to Susan stomped into the room, slamming the door behind her. She yanked open her dresser drawer and rooted furiously through it. She whirled around to glare at George. "What did you do with it? I know you took it."

5. (I'm sure there must be a 5. I just can't think what it is right now. ;))

[deathwizard]

The first draft of every book in my series was about 25,000 words longer than the finished product.

[David I]

Both.

It's always longer than I wanted or anticipated. And yet instead of needing cutting, there are always a few scenes that need to be added.

So it's too long. And also too short.

[kristie911]

Depends on the book. Most come in too short, one was too long. Even the one that came in about right needed so much editing it didn't really matter.

But overall, I tend to be short.

[joyce]

Thanks again everyone for sharing your experience with me.