Do you draft before you draft?

[u/jemmly]

Hi all!!

I'm getting into writing a new novel idea and wanted to see where everyone stands with drafting. For my first book I wrote almost entirely by the seat of my pants but it took 4 years before I finishes that book and that doesn't even including the editing stages.

I'm thinking of trying trying draft a bit more this time around to save my brain from falling into circles trying to chase my plot. I feel like there's a line with having too much detail for your 1st draft and absolutely too little detail.

How much do you draft before your first draft, or do you skip it entirely? Just getting a feel for how others do their processes!

[u/JetBoyJetGirl13]

Highly recommend reading Draft No. 4 by John McPhee. It's specifically about narrative non-fiction — but the lessons about story structure are applicable to any type of writer.

It's a very fun read, too.