Write the Draft Faster
With a focused plan and a clear outline, Dan Rice shows how to turn the drafting stage into a fast, efficient process while still delivering a strong, polished story.
As a writer with a day job, I’m always looking to bang out my rough drafts faster. The key, of course, is to draft faster without sacrificing quality. Otherwise, you’ll spend all that time you saved editing slipshod prose. There has to be a sunny day scenario, a happy medium, where you can write the draft quickly without repeatedly smacking yourself on the forehead during the edit, right? I might’ve found that idyllic state for myself. Maybe my experience can help you discover your drafting nirvana.
I’ve Always Been a Planner
When I first became serious about trying my luck as a word scribbler, I joined The Puget Sound Writers Guild and was indoctrinated into the then-resident writer’s planning process. For some writers out there, planning is a four-letter word. But it wasn’t for me and still isn’t. Before I was introduced to the concept of planning a novel, I hadn’t an inkling how to get a cohesive tale with a compelling plot, relevant subplots, and characters readers love (or love to hate) from grey matter ephemera to paper.
After learning to plan my work, I whipped out rough drafts at a remarkable rate. I still had many mountains to summit before I produced anything worthwhile, but I could write a novel-length rough draft of dubious quality for the first time. To move from dubious quality to publishable fiction, I took the approach that studious practice makes closer to perfection. As my writing improved, I refined my planning process.
The Outline as a Roadmap
I won’t do a deep dive into my planning process other than to say the result is a detailed outline laying out the story chapter by chapter. By the time I produce this, I always feel like I know the story front to back and back to front. After that, I write the rough draft while only occasionally referencing the outline.
This approach seems to capture the best of both the planner and the pantser worlds. I know my story really, really well, practically like the back of my hand, but I still have the freedom to improvise, to allow my muse to lead me slightly astray, and to let the characters tell the story. Although I’ve had great success using this technique, I’ve also faced difficulties. It consistently produces more story than I need, which means editorial butchery—chop, chop, chop those characters, subplots, and extraneous scenes. Recently, I was bitten by this problem. After drafting the fourth and final volume in my series, The Allison Lee Chronicles, I had to cut 50,000 words from the manuscript.
The Outline as a Schematic
For my latest novel, a YA horror titled Phantom Algebra, I knew upfront that I wanted the manuscript to be about 75,000 words. All my other novel-length efforts ended the drafting process north of 100,000 words and required significant rewriting, revision, and wordsmithing. For Phantom Algebra, I had a deadline, and not the self-imposed kind. I needed to draft smarter.
To that end, I created my most detailed outline ever and followed it assiduously while writing the rough draft. The outline wasn’t a roadmap; it was a detailed schematic. And it worked precisely how I had hoped. I wrote the draft faster than ever, completing it in three-ish months. It was within 2,000 words of 75,000, and, to my considerable surprise, the story and prose were clean. I still needed to perform an editing job, but the continuity errors and dangling subplots were few and far between.
As you have probably guessed, I met the deadline…easily.
Concluding Thoughts
You might wonder if I found following the outline to the letter irritating or limiting. I did not. It did not restrict my creativity or stifle my characters. It felt like the opposite. Plot twists were executed with aplomb. My word choice was often spot on. Solid characterization came easily.
I realize not everyone will go all in for planning, but if you’re struggling with some deficiency in your writing or staring down a looming deadline, crafting a detailed outline and following it might be the panacea you’re looking for.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Rice pens the young adult urban fantasy series The Allison Lee Chronicles and other speculative fiction, both short and long, in the wee hours of the morning. To discover more about Dan’s writing and keep tabs on his upcoming releases, check out his blog, join his newsletter, and follow him on BlueSky.
His latest novel, the YA horror Phantom Algebra, releases on September 15, 2025.
Phantom Algebra (The Haunting of Pinedale High)
Zuri and her mother settle in Pinedale, North Carolina, to start over. For years, they’ve been on the run from Zuri’s father, a retired boxer and full-time gangland enforcer.
In Pinedale, Zuri finds a gym where she can train in mixed martial arts to pursue her dream of becoming a champion fighter. At Pinedale High, she discovers friends among the outcasts, academic challenges, and something unexpected…ghosts.
When Zuri encounters a tween phantom haunting the library, her life is turned upside down and inside out as she attempts to help the spirit. This incurs the wrath of devils, living and dead. Zuri will need her martial arts prowess, heart, and the aid of friends to protect everyone she loves.