Is it okay to keep my drafts unread by others?
I got the idea of writing a novel, I'm just afraid to show it to other since It's not yet done. Is that okay? thanks
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In my own writing life, I've found my small group of trusted readers to be more beneficial than my own self-critique.
They find a lot of issues I've been staring at for weeks without seeing: rough spots where characters are ill-defined, gaps in the plot, slips in characters' voices, etc. And of course, they'll note what's working well.
Even in early, rough drafts they'll see themes and metaphors that I hadn't discovered myself, discoveries that sometimes steer the story in new, better directions.
So yes, it's okay to keep your drafts to yourself, giving it to a select few will benefit you and your work a great deal.
There is an anecdote about Henry Kissinger from when he was a professor. At one point a student had handed in a paper, and had dropped by his office to receive the graded result.
"Is that the best you can do?" Kissinger said dismissively, handing the paper back.
"No, the student sheepishly admitted. "I suppose there is quite a bit that could be better." He received the paper, went over it, and handed it back in later.
When he visited the professor's office to receive his grade, the professor was almost as harsh. "I can't believe this is the best you can do," he said. Again, the student retreated to his own place, and went over the paper again, finding a few areas that had missed his previous examination. He corrected these and handed the results in to the professor.
"Are you sure this is the best you can do?" the professor said.
"Yes," the student said. "I have gone over this paper twice. I cannot find a single weakness in any part of it. This is the best I am capable of doing."
"Good," Kissinger said. "I'll read it."
It is your choice. But I would recommend you only show a draft if it is your latest draft.
However, keep all drafts if you need to go to court for any copyright issues (for further explanation on copyright issues, see my answer to this question.
Yes. In fact, it's better that way. Keep it to yourself until you've revised and revised and revised before you show it to anyone. But when you do, have a thick skin about it.
If you don't feel ready to show it to other people, there is still someone who can take a critical look at the work and offer feedback: your future self.
If you leave the first draft of a novel alone for six months, say, but spend those six months continuously working on your writing (and reading, and reading about writing etc), you will be a better writer and a more capable critic by the time you re-read the novel. Your future self could be just as valuable a critic as a different person.
This will also help your ability to take a step back from your own work and look at it without the emotions that come from being too involved in the work. If you find that you are able to say 'what the hell was I thinking?!' when you read a particular section, then you will know that you are now better than you were when you wrote the novel.
You can repeat this cycle a couple of times until you feel more confident that the work has improved, and at that point you can bring in other readers to give you their views.
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