Writing: Drafting & Revising

In prison, I read all of the available Kazuo Ishiguro novels available(which were quite a few). I thought him interesting before he won the Nobel and writer worth paying attention to when he talks about writing. The following comes from Kazuo Ishiguro, The Art of Fiction No. 196.

INTERVIEWER

Do you work on a computer?

ISHIGURO

I have two desks. One has a writing slope and the other has a computer on it. The computer dates from 1996. It’s not connected to the Internet. I prefer to work by pen on my writing slope for the initial drafts. I want it to be more or less illegible to anyone apart from myself. The rough draft is a big mess. I pay no attention to anything to do with style or coherence. I just need to get everything down on paper. If I’m suddenly struck by a new idea that doesn’t fit with what’s gone before, I’ll still put it in. I just make a note to go back and sort it all out later. Then I plan the whole thing out from that. I number sections and move them around. By the time I write my next draft, I have a clearer idea of where I’m going. This time round, I write much more carefully.

INTERVIEWER

How many drafts do you typically write?

ISHIGURO

I rarely go beyond the third draft. Having said that, there are individual passages that I’ve had to write over and over again.

I have one other post about him here. 

sch 7/3/22