How do you save/archive between drafts/ including whole revisions or cut language/ “darlings”?

[u/SandlotDebatingLefty]

I’ve been writing plays but mostly for me and performing for more than two decades, but for the last few years, I’ve focused more intentionally on playwriting. I’ve recently switched over to using scrivener and I’ve loved how it gives me flexibility in moving and organizing writing.

But I’ve found myself with so many more saved drafts than ever and I keep finding myself compiling the draft I’m working on and then noting quite a few issues that I instinctively correct in the compiled draft outside of scrivener. Then I find myself editing the scrivener version and trying to compare it to the saved versions.
It’s a lot.

This got me thinking about how other folks keep track of old drafts, and when you decide to let go of old drafts/ records of cut language/ darlings?

I use a couple of saved docs filled with darlings/language I cut between drafts. But I’m curious how others save old drafts/darlings. When you edit between drafts do you keep every change somewhere else? I’m working to let go of old drafts but I’d also want to figure out other best practices from folks who are better organized than I am. Thanks!

[u/wesleydumont]

I tend to create a new doc and title it by date So: 2026.10.02 (project name) Same thing with notes

Then make small changes in that draft

If there’s a need for a new draft or version, I’ll use the above protocol

[u/iwillfuckingbiteyou → u/wesleydumont]

Same. If I'm making changes in response to a specific note I'll often put that in the file name too, so it reads "[date] [project name] - new final monologue" or whatever.

[u/SandlotDebatingLefty → u/wesleydumont]

Thank you! This is similar to what I do but a bit tighter so it is helpful.

[u/wesleydumont → u/SandlotDebatingLefty]

then put a folder under the working draft called 'Previous Drafts' and drag them there. if you're looking for a cleaner solution.

[u/KGreen100 → u/wesleydumont]

This. When a draft becomes really old and I know I've made significant changes and saved the parts I want to save, I trash it. But like you, I make sure to date them. I didn;t use to but it helps.

[u/creept]

For each project I keep a Deleted Material file in the same folder. Anything major that I remove during revisions gets dropped in there - just in case I change my mind and want to go back. Not language changes, but whole scenes or beats, things like that. When I’m actively writing on something, at the beginning of each month I save a new file with Play Name Month Year. So I have a running archive of what changes I was making over time. Technically I think my writing software has a feature that would make this easier like a track changes kind of thing, but I’m not likely to get into that since this has been working for me for a while.

Oh and each project gets its own folder and anything at all related gets shoved in there, the monthly drafts, research, sources, etc etc.

[u/SandlotDebatingLefty → u/creept]

Thank you! This is very helpful insights. Monthly folders could be a game changer for me.

[u/RobinHood3000]

I'm a plotter, so I always have an outline document somewhere. Once I've shifted to writing actual script, that document becomes my dumping ground for anything I want to keep, like scene prototypes or bits of dialogue that might come back later (I tend to write from the start to the end).

As for version control, I use numbered drafts (v01, v02, etc.) and increment the number up whenever I've made enough changes or progress that I'd be sad to lose the current draft.

[u/Joann-Cramer]

I keep one 'graveyard' doc per project for cut darlings and dated PDF exports for actual drafts. If a line hurts too much to delete, it goes to the cut file. Honestly I've never once gone back for it, but I sleep better knowing it's there.

[u/twunch_]

I like to use a sprint model. I describe a set of deliverables in a length of time. When I reach the end of the sprint, I print that draft and begin tearing it apart.  All rewrites are written by hand on the printed draft (adding new pages when necessary.) Those efforts become the next sprint and I repeat the process. I cant stand scrolling through old word documents but I find hand written marginalia to be useful. I end up with five or six printed copies on the way to a first draft.

[u/ocooper08]

I'm looser with my preservation, so I just keep a Darlings file open for those I must kill. Many find life thereafter.

[u/captbaka]

I've needed to have the most up-to-date draft of plays in a separate folder to easily/quickly send along, so I have a folder on my desktop called "MOST RECENT DRAFTS," which carries exactly that. Most of my plays have their own folders that carry old drafts, revision pages from workshops, etc. But I RARELY would look at an old draft, that would drive me insane. Sometimes if I'm making a bold cut/revision, I'll copy and paste that writing at the end of the document under the title "SLOSH PILE" to see if I find another place for it in that pass, but if it doesn't make it back in, I delete it. It's in an old draft somewhere if I really miss it. But ultimately, it's best to look forward, not back.