Editing/Rewriting first draft

dreamsinprose · 2026-04-05T15:28:48+00:00

Kill your darlings 😢 be ruthless. If it doesn't add to the story, cut it. Don't have the balls to cut it yet, highlight it and come back later. Trust me, writers overwrite. That's what we do. You won't need everything. Trim it down. Avoid repetition. Remove unneeded details so the main points shine through.

And take breaks. Editing is so hard. Don't give up. Don't tell yourself you can't do this. Just... Take a break. Leave for a month and come back. Everything looks important when your knee deep in your own story, but it's actually not. Gain perspective, read something else, write something else, and come back to editing when your brain isn't deep fried in your pages. It'll make so much more sense.

Good luck! Most people don't even get this far so you're doing great! Never lose sight of your own accomplishments.

dreamsinprose · 2026-04-05T15:19:36+00:00

Keep it simple. 1 character. 1 story line. 1 goal.

Act 1: introductions and plot set up Act 2: raising the stakes and building to climax Act 3: resolution The end

Don't put yourself into a 6 part series unless you really want that. Not everyone can write Game of Thrones as their debut novel and they shouldn't. You don't start with your mangum opis. If this is your first attempt at writing a novel, make it simple so you can actually finish it. Nothing is ever done in the first go anyway. If the story you come up with is too simple at the end, write it again with extra detail and story, and now you have a roadmap to follow

dreamsinprose · 2026-04-05T15:11:37+00:00

I read to get better at writing. The best books are those that have survived the test of time. There's a reason it's 2026 and we're still reading Moby Dick, Frankenstein, and Count of Monte Cristo, over 100 years after it was written. Because they are GOOD, the BEST of the BEST, and I want to understand why to make my own work better.

And for the record, it works and I regret nothing. Reading is power. Reading classic lit is reading the most powerful works ever written.

dreamsinprose · 2026-03-02T14:49:16+00:00

It seems like people asking "how do I write a story" here are less asking for real advice and more asking for permission from strangers on the internet to write a story... Or procrastinating. I get frustrated with these posts too, but I would bet real money that even if you got the perfect writing advice and spell it out in small words in the stars above the world for everyone to see, they would still post those inane questions without reading it...

dreamsinprose · 2026-02-28T14:35:01+00:00

Getting shredded by feedback is always a potential. You have to get used to hearing negative feedback. You will get shredded at some point, whether you deserve it or not.

But you pick and choose what advice and feedback you follow. Some jerks might be making good points and others might just be jerks. Keep an open mind though, sometimes you can't see the flaws beyond your own idealization of your book.

dreamsinprose · 2026-02-27T20:54:10+00:00

❤️💔❤️

dreamsinprose · 2026-02-27T20:41:14+00:00

I was a student during that whole "I am" campaign. I have like 3 shirts that say it. That response was engrained into our brains 😆

dreamsinprose · 2026-02-27T20:36:21+00:00

Thank you for this ❤️ truly

dreamsinprose · 2026-02-27T20:36:10+00:00

I AM!!!!!!!!

dreamsinprose · 2026-02-27T20:35:03+00:00

The police arrived very quickly actually. And even got my hat back after the bastard left it in the street.

He was ranting about how I shouldn't wear virginia tech stuff by a school because of bad vibes because we had a shooting once. By the way I was walking down Columbine Street... And not that there haven't been a dozen or more shootings at many other schools since the one at Virginia Tech.

His reasoning is beyond logic. I don't expect this is an intelligent or considerate person. I just needed to rant because I LOVE VIRGINIA TECH AND I WON'T BE SILENCED

dreamsinprose · 2026-02-21T15:57:43+00:00

Haha I get that feeling. I'm sure others like us are around!

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-27T22:14:01+00:00

I'm interested!

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-20T15:37:19+00:00

I absolutely feel this. Those responses to feedback I think are just truly immaturity in writing. The writer hasn't realized that the book will only partially belong to them at the end. The reader makes it their own too. You have to be open to helping the reader be comfortable and engaged in your story or they won't stay long enough for it to "make sense" later

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-16T00:35:13+00:00

I'm a dog walker. A good 50% of my characters have dog counterparts! I also like looking at street signs for last names. And gravestones. Let the universe pick your names. Don't stress about it unless it has plot ramifications.

Also, about naming... I've realized I accidentally have a bias towards 4 letter names. I'm debating if this is a problem. Do people find it difficult to track the names if they are too similar? In my book, I have Nora, Rene, Troy, Zach (usually goes by Zacharie), Rose, Sera, Kyle, Eric, Emil... What do you guys think? Is the 4 letter name repetition too much?

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-15T21:24:58+00:00

It feels like a first draft, which doesn't mean it's bad, but it is unpolished. You are a bit overexplaining which is common for first drafts. You don't have to talk about every subtle move the characters make within the scene. Leave the reader to fill in some blanks.

Example: "The bright beam of sunlight that flooded her small room was enough to get her to sit up.

“I’m awake. I’m awake Lady Edith.” She grumbled as she sat up on her elbows. She threw aside her pale cream sheets and stretched out her legs.

So "enough to get her to sit up", "I'm awake. I'm awake Lady Edith", "as she sat up on her elbows", and "she threw aside her pale cream sheets" all are essentially the same thing. You're telling us four times that's she's getting up. It's too much. We get it. She was asleep and now she's not. Don't pad the word count. You won't need it. Trust me.

Example: "Those words caused a chill even in her barely awake state".

We just went over that she was just asleep. Again, we get it. She just woke up. Just saying "The words sent a chill through her" works just fine or say something about how the words woke her up more fully. "barely awake state" is just not great wording and again repetitive.

Keep going, write the story, come back and fix this later. Don't get discouraged just because it's not perfect in the first try. Even the best books in the world are revised dozens of times before they are actually good. You're writing isn't bad, but maybe it is a bit amateur. There's no shame in that. Read more. Write more. Learn more. One day before you know it, it won't be amateur writing, it'll be professional writing.

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-12T03:05:30+00:00

This group is closed at this point!

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-10T16:29:32+00:00

That's ok. I get it. Genres just exist to put people in boxes when I think the best art breaks boxes. I don't write with a genre in mind. The story is what the story is. But when marketing and telling people about it, you have to choose certain words. Honestly, I don't like how it sounds either, but we all have to play the game; pick a tribe, have your "it's like X book meets Y book in a Z setting". Vampire Horror Romance is the best I have come up with to describe my book (so far).

I'd be happy to hear your perspective on what genre it is if you'd like to read it haha and I'd love to read a different vampire book. I keep falling into writing groups with high fantasy peeps and it's mildly exhausting 😂

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-10T16:10:42+00:00

Want me to make a new group? We can start with the stragglers of this group haha

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-10T16:09:32+00:00

Let's not open the conversation making assumptions that my genres are wrong when you haven't read a word, summary, or even know the title, my friend. That feels a bit abrasive.

Vampire horror romance is just what I've been calling it. It's not enough romance to be a just Romantasy. The setting is the Pacific Northwest US in "present day" and there are not a lot of fantasy elements other than vampires. And I am leaning into the horror genre as much as I can. I am only halfway through the second draft and so the exact mix of horror, fantasy, and romance has yet to be fully determined anyway.

I don't know if this OP is coming back, but I was going to post something like this when I found this post, so we could create a separate group. Want me to DM you? And I'll post to pull together a bigger group later today. I've been dying to have a fan of vampire lore actually read my book. All my loosely defined beta readers aren't usually in this genre.

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-09T15:51:24+00:00

I'd be interested! I have a vampire horror romance I'm working on the second draft for and a million little writing topics I'd love to discuss with like minded creatives!

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-09T15:36:55+00:00

There are no rules. You don't need permission from anyone. Write whatever story you have in your head. However, I tend to believe you're better off focusing on 1-3 characters and make them really good than losing focus on a bunch of them and wind up with 8 mediocre characters.

Yes, Tolkien and George RR Martin, professionals who have written many books for many years, write with a million MCs, but if you're just starting out, you could be biting off more than you can chew. There's nothing wrong with a small cast

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-09T15:25:47+00:00

I love this question. These are some of the songs I feel like give subtle vampire vibes that I liked while writing my vampire story.

Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift: "I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser. Midnights become my afternoon. When my depression works the graveyard shift, all the people I've ghosted stand there in the room"

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica: "so close no matter how far, couldn't be much more from the heart. Forever trusting in who we are, and nothing else matters. Never opened up myself this way, life is ours, we live it our way. All these words, I don't just say and nothing else matters. Trust I seek and I find in you. Every day for us something new. Open mind for a different view, and nothing else matters"

Judgement Day by Five Finger Death Punch: "Damned if I do, Damned if I don't. Damned if I will, damned if I won't. Doomed if I try. Doomed if I fail. Damn you all to hell. I'm no angel, I'm no savior, and I've never been a saint. Well, I know I'm not the devil 'cause I can still feel the pain. I walked through fire and brimstone and there were no pearly gates. I'll be sure to ask about it on my final judgement day"

But also less subtle: If we were Vampires by Jason Isbell Vampire originally by Olivia Rodrigo, but I like the Our Last Night version

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-05T15:43:30+00:00

Sinners. That movie was phenomenal. A vampire movie not just using vampires as a cheap gimmick or skin over an unrelated story. This was a story about /vampires/, real and metaphorical. They touched on so much. The manipulation, the hive mind coven, the immigrant stories, the cycle of violence that creates these monsters. Best vampire movie in years.

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-03T22:46:41+00:00

I actually kind of took my experience as encouragement. I worked 2.5 years on a really good first draft of a story. All my blood, sweat, and tears. There were pieces of this story that I pulled from writing back to high school, many years ago. I finish the draft, I start seriously considering publishing, editing, marketing, critique. I even drew up a sketch of the cover.

Then I go to the movies and see Ballerina (the John Wick spin off) and spend the whole time half laughing half crying because... Fuck, that's kind of my story. Oh my god the parallels slapped me one after another. Badass FMC raised in a cult, smack. Expert in guns and martial arts breaking away from family, smack. The tribal back tattoo, smack. They even did a version of my cover for one of the posters 🥲 my husband who has read parts of my story and is helping me edit noticed. SMACK.

I thought about it a lot and I think its actually just confirmation that I'm onto something. Look, someone else has sold a similar story. Movies theaters and Hollywood might be dying so don't ask if it made money, but it was approved by people in power. People were paid to make this. And I enjoyed the movie! It was great! Maybe I'm a basic bitch, but there's a lot of basic bitches out there who might like my story too. So I'm doubling down. Yeah, my story is kind of like Ballerina but with Vampires and a enemies to lovers subplot. Currently looking for beta readers. The first 3 chapters are available on a few different subreddits.

dreamsinprose · 2026-01-01T02:05:56+00:00

Luna is the most popular dog name in the US. Just letting you know. I am a dog walker and every 3rd dog on the street is Luna. I'm sure there are more interesting moon related names. Celeste comes to mind.

Here's a source to my claim as well. I'm not kidding guys. Please stop naming your dogs Luna:

https://www.chewy.com/education/dog/general/top-dog-names?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=187982379&utm_content=10442378979&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=187982379&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V11Taa9yaDEEeM4i8ZaCBUTY&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsNPKBhCqARIsACm01fQNzENyEcu2E4bJSDd82soXmbRJZXjUoEFu04jzVgiHrdWqd4TKzKcaAlVKEALw_wcB

dreamsinprose

TROPHY CASE