I think it’s fair to say that the majority of #writingadvice on the Internet applies more to the planning and drafting phases of the writing process. That’s to be expected—after all, those are the first phases a new writer will encounter, and getting to THE END is the biggest goal. But writers with experience will tell you that THE END is only the beginning.
Recently, I gave myself a crash course in revising in preparation for my NaNoWriMo project—a rewrite—and all the kicking myself I’ve done these past few weeks has been the most vigorous exercise of my life. I know I intended to change some things, but I can’t remember what because I did not take notes as I wrote my draft.
During NaNoWriMo, Wrimos are all fast-drafting, and I don’t want other writers to be so caught up in hitting 1,667 every day that they repeat my mistakes. One way to avoid that? Leaving comments on your doc that can be resolved in the same way you check off items on a to-do list!
What to Comment On Your Doc While Drafting
- Highlight snippets of your work that you love, so you can go back later and post them for #onelinewednesday in our online community
- Comment when you hit a story beat or plot point—that will give you an idea of your pacing when you “zoom out” during revisions
- Wherever you put in a placeholder, add a comment to remind yourself to swap later
- Did you just write something that could’ve been foreshadowed? Add a reminder to yourself to go back later
- If you’re not sure whether what you’re writing jives with what you’ve written in previous chapters, leave a note to check
- Before you leave your document for the day, leave a comment about what you’re planning to write next to make the transition to a flow state smoother
What if I can’t leave comments?
If you’re writing by hand or your favorite word processor doesn’t give you the ability to leave comments on your doc, don’t worry. There are other ways to achieve a similar effect!
You might first want to try using brackets to differentiate between prose and commentary. We have a blog post all about it!
If using brackets doesn’t work for you, you might want to try other note-taking methods. We have a blog post on how to track your writing sessions the analog way and a free downloadable spreadsheet for tracking word counts for multiple projects. You might also want to check out our 90-Day Novel Planner or our free November Novel Planner!
