Draft Four of The Secret Portal: The First Valid Draft

Origins of TSP: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/origins-of-the-secret-portal

Draft One of TSP: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/draft-one-of-the-secret-portal

Draft Two Book One: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/draft-two-book-one-of-the-secret-portal

Draft Two Book Two: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/draft-two-book-two-of-the-secret-portal

Draft Two Book Three: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/draft-two-book-three-of-the-secret-portal

Draft Two Book Four: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/draft-two-book-four-of-the-secret-portal

Draft Three: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/draft-three-of-the-secret-portal

Beginnings of Draft Four: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/the-beginnings-of-draft-four-of-the-secret-portal

Because Draft Four is the closest to what I have now, I cannot go over it without spoiling a great deal, so I will instead choose to be vague when describing my progress.

I outlined backstories for pretty much every character that had a main role, which I planned to give entirely in expository fashion, but I realized soon that this was really boring, so I instead opted to actually go into detail with the backstories by flashbacks into different perspectives.

I originally had a lot more flashback chapters showing how Lexi met all of her friends, but I soon realized that they were completely unnecessary; we didn't need to see how everyone met, especially when they don't give anything to the actual story. I originally had the flashback chapters be told in italics to represent that this was a memory but I soon found that annoying when I realized that I was going to be doing that frequently. Besides, just the date is enough, I hope.

At one point, I had a brilliant idea to kill every single character but one. This died quickly. Some deaths remain, but most of them have since changed or been scrapped. Killing everyone just to do it is not a good writing strategy. So rest assured that not everyone dies.

There was always a question how many book of The Secret Portal I was going to have. I soon decided that having 6 parts sounded like a good idea. At one point, I wondered if putting all 6 parts in one giant book, and just divide it into 6 labelled sections, was a good idea. It wasn't. Instead, I split the book into a trilogy, planning for two parts per book. It stayed this way for a very long time.

I also decided to add a little bit of world building when it came to the powersets. Originally around Draft Two, I planned for every character to have a different power. That died. So I instead decided to have a set number of powers, each with a different level of rarity that I called "Classes" and each with a different number of subpowers that I called "Levels." I will get to these powers at a later date.

At this point, I had a large supporting cast that was very one-note, although I planned to go into everyone's perspectives at one point or another. I will also get back to this.

Throughout high school, I worked extremely hard on this Draft, but I was also constantly editing it. I was combining chapters, cutting chapters, adding chapters, and more. It was a mess. Also, I hate to admit it, but it was practically drowning in pop culture references. Whenever I had a new hyperfixation, I would pretty much write an entire scene around that. Word of advice: don't do this. It was very cringe-worthy, and most of those scenes have been cut. If I am to make a reference, I now make sure it's very quick as to not distract anyone, and also gives the character some interests that makes sense.

I got relatively far in these Drafts. Part One was seventy-nine thousand words. It went in circles and was a complete mess, but my friends who read it seemed to like it enough. Part Two was slightly better, reached seventy-six thousand words, and one part caused one friend to stop talking to me for an entire day and another to tear up. Will not get into spoilers, but I was glad it actually effective--which is not what I was expecting.

These two parts were constantly under revision, and I was trying to make them better constantly. I always felt bad, because it meant my friends were constantly having to reread parts if not completely start over.

Part Three I actually managed to get a first draft of, and as it was only the first draft, it only reached fifty-eight thousand words. I felt like I was stretching it out, and while my friends didn't comment, I personally found it very boring overall. I knew I had to put some scenes here and there, but they usually didn't go anywhere. I also thought I was laying the Sad Stuff on a little too thick. However, I did want to get this rough draft completed so I could move on. However, I only got fifteen thousand words into Part Four before I stopped.

In the first semester of my senior year of high school, I decided I needed to world build a little more before I could move on. I knew so little about my world, it was kind of pathetic, and I wanted it to be rich and not basic. So, I cracked down on it.

That's it for today! Don't forget to leave a like and comment, and sign up so you can get notifications every time I update!

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Worldbuilding of TSP: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/the-world-building-of-the-secret-portal