drafts
n. countablen. early versions of a piece of writing that are not finished yet. You write these to get your ideas down before you check for mistakes and make the final version.
n. preliminary versions of a piece of writing, subject to revision and editing. Refers to the iterative stages of the composition process before a final manuscript is produced.
I wrote three drafts of the essay before I was happy.
The author shared several early drafts of the novel with her editor to ensure the plot was moving in the right direction.
While the final publication received critical acclaim, the initial drafts reveal a much darker tone and a significantly different ending for the protagonist.
Usually used in the plural when referring to the process of revision; the singular 'draft' refers to one specific version.