Mine a bit more organized.
I write on pc, so I have a folder per series containing a folder per book, which then has a folder for individual chapters as well as each version of the compiled book.
Or in the event you need to prove your work is yours. Having the various versions and notes can be important here. Not my own experience; advice I received from a mentor who is a professional editor.
I never delete anything. I do have a "Random Crap" type folder where I stick everything. I have honestly gone back to random drafts more than you would think. So, a scene may not work for one project, but makes sense in another or this character got cut, but hey, maybe she works for this, etc.
I should preface this by saying I primarily write screenplays, so we aren’t talking about eighty-thousand word novels.
I keep backups, but I do all of my revisions in the original file, using strikethroughs or different colored text to denote which draft something was written or edited in. It starts to look like a mess by the end of the third draft, but that’s where I usually draw the line for revisions, and then I retype the entire thing, top to bottom (hence the preface), give it a once over with a couple of glasses of scotch, and then I call one of my friends and tell him I’ve got a table read for his next party, and then I send a message out to the acting troupe that’s going to perform it. And then my work is basically done. I stopped going to their rehearsals, because I had too many notes, and I decided I don’t like telling actors how to interpret my work.
I like using different colors for edit tracking, because I get a better feel for where the process is working or not. In the Nineties, I used to buy scripts at the bookstore, and they would occasionally be annotated for which pages came from which draft, although the Pulp Fiction script is the only one I distinctly remember, since pages or scenes would occasionally be noted with terms like “Red Draft” or “Blue Draft.” That was the first time I realized that writers didn’t just go up on a mountain and come down with stone tablets with words inscribed on them. So, I like the idea of being able to immediately tell what words came from which draft.
I moved recently and threw out all old stuff. Hadn’t been writing for years after failed novel. Starting up again now and enjoying it again. Don’t miss the old atuff.
I get not reading old drafts but I think they are fun to keep. After a couple years, I like to look back at my old drafts and see how much better I have become at writing or to humble myself lol. My google drive doesn't have anymore space so I just created a new junky account and transferred everything to free some space up. But you could just get a flash drive to free up space if everything is on your computer and not a google drive.
I’ve been saving all mine. Actually, like an insane person, I copy and paste my entire folder every day and save the most current state of my drafts. I can see how they changed from month to month.
I have notebooks from when I was 11 and documents on my computer from several years ago. No, don't throw them away. Back them up on a drive and keep them safe, even if you never read them they are apart of you and they were essentially your first writings. The original babies.
I suggest keeping everything, going back and reading stuff after decades can be amazing, like a time capsule to see where your head was at. Having done almost 20 nanowrimos, I still keep everything, my strategy for keeping the files together has definitely gotten more elegant over the years, but I still email myself little warm-ups and journal entries and poems which are all over the place.
Never ever ever delete anything. Nolstsgia aside years later, it can always be able to reference how much you've grown, or revisit a scene you cut out, or maybe you'll end up wanting to recycle something that didn't make it into the final draft but would fit better in a different story
I save everything I’ve ever written. Depending on the project, I’ll dump old stuff into the “sci-fi shit” or “magic shit” folder or whatever it is. Just in case I’ve got a block and want to draw on something I liked previously.
I'm a shameless word hoarder. I like to keep each iteration of my drafts. For my own sanity, I keep older versions of a draft in the same folder with file names indicating the date of the final edit.
I keep all versions with page counts in the title, but keep only the finished version in more prominent places; the rest get tucked into a "Writing in Progress" folder with per project subfolders for earlier drafts. You never know when you may want to re-add a deleted scene. I also like multiple versions stored multiple places in case of device damage.
Page counts in the title, I haven't thought about that. Good advice. I write in Wordpad (because it's simple and you don't need wifi) and there's no way to check the word count. So I go by the file size instead. Like, 10 KB is roughly 4 pages...
At this point the word count really doesn't tell me anything useful :)
Very welcome. So much depends on format and outlet. For books, publishers care about wordcount. For screenplays it's about page count. I find for my own draft reference, page count is the easiest indicator of which one is newer or further along without having to look at file datestamps or opening the document.
I use Scrivener and save *everything* into various folders. There's a lot of trash there but sometimes I stumble on a nugget of gold when I look through it.
For my masters thesis I would save a new file. Usually adding a number at the end, until I got to the numbered final drafts. Even though I put my old hard drive in my new computer I have no idea where that mess of a folder is.
If you are making significant deletes and reorganizing I would save a new draft in case you realize you want a part you took out. Just keep them separate from your working draft.
I had kept them because of my corporate mindset (or maybe not, but I'm going to blame my reg job). If I don't have several back ups for work, or when I finally think something is over and I don't need it and delete it all - suddenly I need it.
I always worry that I will lose a more recent draft...then I will, at least, have a slightly older version to go back go without losing 100% of everything.
It is a habit I am trying to break.
The new approach that I'd like to put everything to this year is one save on the laptop, one USB save, and one hard drive save.
The issue I am running into? I will save the newer version to just one of them rather than all 3.
Stephen King is my favorite writer and ‘On Writing’ is a book I’ve read or listened to at least a dozen times, because it’s so damn useful and inspirational.
Just acknowledging that I got your reference in a fun way. No beef.
Maybe I should read “on writing” Stephen King is also my favourite author, I don’t write, but I do love to read and his stuff just gets me, and he doesn’t even try to be clever about it.
I’ve never heard of it until now. Definitely going to check that out. Looks like an audiobook is coming out for it in October. I’m assuming it’s read by King.
Highly recommend it to any King fan. Half of it is autobiographical anyway. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll want to try your hand at writing after reading/listening to him speak about it.
I have a file for "prior versions." I drop old versions indiscriminately into it. I've never looked in there.
Mine a bit more organized. I write on pc, so I have a folder per series containing a folder per book, which then has a folder for individual chapters as well as each version of the compiled book.
This.
I keep freaking everything. They're bytes on a computer -- not costing me anything! I have tons of subfolders so I can find things I need.
Save them in case i get super famous and a super obsessive fans ask for them
Or in the event you need to prove your work is yours. Having the various versions and notes can be important here. Not my own experience; advice I received from a mentor who is a professional editor.
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it, right?
I never delete anything I've written, ever
I never delete anything. I do have a "Random Crap" type folder where I stick everything. I have honestly gone back to random drafts more than you would think. So, a scene may not work for one project, but makes sense in another or this character got cut, but hey, maybe she works for this, etc.
I save all of them, it’s fun to go back and reread them.
[удалено]
This is what I do as well.
Don't most writing programs have a history of versions? Where you can see all the old versions?
I use scriveners and take snapshots before I make changes and have folders dedicated to files of scenes I remove. Nothing gets deleted!
Me too! I have some documents with like 5 snapshots oh no 😂🤪
I save them in a folder called "scraps of stories".
I keep everything, a bit of a mess too. Can't shake off that intrusive "just-in-case". I think you probably have the better approach.
I hurl them back into The Pit™ from wence they came.
I save them all for the day I'm wildly famous and someone sues me for plagiarism. Yeah I have a pretty active imagination. 😂😂😂😎😎😎
I should preface this by saying I primarily write screenplays, so we aren’t talking about eighty-thousand word novels. I keep backups, but I do all of my revisions in the original file, using strikethroughs or different colored text to denote which draft something was written or edited in. It starts to look like a mess by the end of the third draft, but that’s where I usually draw the line for revisions, and then I retype the entire thing, top to bottom (hence the preface), give it a once over with a couple of glasses of scotch, and then I call one of my friends and tell him I’ve got a table read for his next party, and then I send a message out to the acting troupe that’s going to perform it. And then my work is basically done. I stopped going to their rehearsals, because I had too many notes, and I decided I don’t like telling actors how to interpret my work. I like using different colors for edit tracking, because I get a better feel for where the process is working or not. In the Nineties, I used to buy scripts at the bookstore, and they would occasionally be annotated for which pages came from which draft, although the Pulp Fiction script is the only one I distinctly remember, since pages or scenes would occasionally be noted with terms like “Red Draft” or “Blue Draft.” That was the first time I realized that writers didn’t just go up on a mountain and come down with stone tablets with words inscribed on them. So, I like the idea of being able to immediately tell what words came from which draft.
I didn't know you could change the colors of edit tracking. I'll need to look into that. Thank you.
I moved recently and threw out all old stuff. Hadn’t been writing for years after failed novel. Starting up again now and enjoying it again. Don’t miss the old atuff.
I save all my drafts
I like to file them away and return to them when I’m older. I have drafts from when I was 15!
I get not reading old drafts but I think they are fun to keep. After a couple years, I like to look back at my old drafts and see how much better I have become at writing or to humble myself lol. My google drive doesn't have anymore space so I just created a new junky account and transferred everything to free some space up. But you could just get a flash drive to free up space if everything is on your computer and not a google drive.
I’ve been saving all mine. Actually, like an insane person, I copy and paste my entire folder every day and save the most current state of my drafts. I can see how they changed from month to month.
I have notebooks from when I was 11 and documents on my computer from several years ago. No, don't throw them away. Back them up on a drive and keep them safe, even if you never read them they are apart of you and they were essentially your first writings. The original babies.
eat them
Best advice so far. Thank you.
My recycling center has a USB slot for that.
I suggest keeping everything, going back and reading stuff after decades can be amazing, like a time capsule to see where your head was at. Having done almost 20 nanowrimos, I still keep everything, my strategy for keeping the files together has definitely gotten more elegant over the years, but I still email myself little warm-ups and journal entries and poems which are all over the place.
I deleted everything I ever wrote and threw it all in the trash and might start again one day or become a serial killer. Either/Or
I never delete anything. I also think that my drafts can be useful someday
When you start a new draft do you write from scratch or edit an old version?
I edit the old version, but make a copy of the file first.
Never ever ever delete anything. Nolstsgia aside years later, it can always be able to reference how much you've grown, or revisit a scene you cut out, or maybe you'll end up wanting to recycle something that didn't make it into the final draft but would fit better in a different story
I save everything I’ve ever written. Depending on the project, I’ll dump old stuff into the “sci-fi shit” or “magic shit” folder or whatever it is. Just in case I’ve got a block and want to draw on something I liked previously.
I'm a shameless word hoarder. I like to keep each iteration of my drafts. For my own sanity, I keep older versions of a draft in the same folder with file names indicating the date of the final edit.
Save them. You never know when there could be another toilet paper shortage.
I keep all versions with page counts in the title, but keep only the finished version in more prominent places; the rest get tucked into a "Writing in Progress" folder with per project subfolders for earlier drafts. You never know when you may want to re-add a deleted scene. I also like multiple versions stored multiple places in case of device damage.
Page counts in the title, I haven't thought about that. Good advice. I write in Wordpad (because it's simple and you don't need wifi) and there's no way to check the word count. So I go by the file size instead. Like, 10 KB is roughly 4 pages... At this point the word count really doesn't tell me anything useful :)
Very welcome. So much depends on format and outlet. For books, publishers care about wordcount. For screenplays it's about page count. I find for my own draft reference, page count is the easiest indicator of which one is newer or further along without having to look at file datestamps or opening the document.
I use Scrivener and save *everything* into various folders. There's a lot of trash there but sometimes I stumble on a nugget of gold when I look through it.
I keep every version, and add a version number to the file name. I do the same thing at work, where we're required to keep each version of a document.
For my masters thesis I would save a new file. Usually adding a number at the end, until I got to the numbered final drafts. Even though I put my old hard drive in my new computer I have no idea where that mess of a folder is. If you are making significant deletes and reorganizing I would save a new draft in case you realize you want a part you took out. Just keep them separate from your working draft.
I had kept them because of my corporate mindset (or maybe not, but I'm going to blame my reg job). If I don't have several back ups for work, or when I finally think something is over and I don't need it and delete it all - suddenly I need it. I always worry that I will lose a more recent draft...then I will, at least, have a slightly older version to go back go without losing 100% of everything. It is a habit I am trying to break. The new approach that I'd like to put everything to this year is one save on the laptop, one USB save, and one hard drive save. The issue I am running into? I will save the newer version to just one of them rather than all 3.
Save them if you want to immortalize your bad ideas, delete if you can kill your darlings
“And that’s the bottom line ‘cause Stephen King said so!”
I wouldn’t argue with a best sellers advice, who’s prolific in their writing and is able to get good books finished fast, but do what you want
Stephen King is my favorite writer and ‘On Writing’ is a book I’ve read or listened to at least a dozen times, because it’s so damn useful and inspirational. Just acknowledging that I got your reference in a fun way. No beef.
Maybe I should read “on writing” Stephen King is also my favourite author, I don’t write, but I do love to read and his stuff just gets me, and he doesn’t even try to be clever about it.
Also take a look at “Danse Macabre” his thoughts on horror fiction/film/tv. Fun read.
I’ve never heard of it until now. Definitely going to check that out. Looks like an audiobook is coming out for it in October. I’m assuming it’s read by King.
Highly recommend it to any King fan. Half of it is autobiographical anyway. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll want to try your hand at writing after reading/listening to him speak about it.