As writers, we’ll find our work develops as we grow and find our voices. In that time, our old drafts may come across as cringy. In this blog, I’ll break down five reasons why we should keep those drafts. No hovering over the delete key!
1. Gold Dust
Sometimes drafts didn’t work for many different reasons. There might be a real cracker of an idea buried under the “meh” stuff. Maybe there’s an opening image or part of a scenario you didn’t use again when the newer drafts went a new direction.
Not every idea you had works for the same project. Playing with that idea for other or new projects means that genius moment isn’t lost.
2. Tonal Change
I’ve been there, writing something only for the tone to suddenly get very, very dark to the point I had to start again. Keeping those drafts means you can see where potential changes in tone could enhance your current work.
Allowing your previous drafts a chance to make the current one better isn’t a bad thing. If anything, it shows growth and a better knowledge of your stories.
3. Your Journey
As writers, we go on a journey. The more we write, the more we find our voice, our genres, our kind of stories. Looking back at those old drafts means you can see how far you’ve come. Yes, there may be some serious cringe-worthy ones in there. I’ve certainly had my share. But it’s let me see how much bolder I’ve become in my writing, using writing craft to write the best stories I can.
4. Fandom All The Way
You might be surprised just how many writers start our writing fan fiction. I did too along side my original stories. I mean, I’ve read some cracking fan fiction. What stops you from writing original fiction off a scenario you put your favourite characters through from your favourite show? Didn’t stop me!
5. Recovery Gains
Whether you’re seeking publication or production, you’re gonna get notes. No doubt there’s so many they’re coming out your ears. The consequences to that are you’ll have to do another draft and another once you get more notes.
Not keeping previous versions of your drafts is a bad move. In some projects I’ve worked on, we changed something only for it not to work. We had it fairly nailed in a previous draft. If we hadn’t kept old drafts, we couldn’t have put that good bit back in. So before you hit that delete button, just think about whether you might need it should your newer draft need the sparkle from an older draft.
Learning from your past work is all we can do as writers. Don’t overlook how far you’ve come. There could be golden nuggets in your past drafts. You just have to be brave enough to look.
Happy writing!