If you’ve read any articles or books about the craft of writing or listened to author podcasts, you’ll have heard that a first draft is always rubbish, pure crap. The goal of the first draft is to get the story down in some shape, to produce something that can later be improved and transformed into a book you are proud of. They tell you that your first draft will be poor to take the pressure off and to encourage you to keep moving forward without agonising over every word and judging every sentence as it’s typed.
I’d heard this advice many times but my brain never really took it on board. In hindsight, I think this is partially because my day job involves computer programming, and having to rewrite or fix poorly written code is an absolute nightmare and something to be avoided at all costs.
Three weeks ago, I finished the first draft of my first full-length novel. After writing maybe 25,000 words, I began to struggle with the plot. I had too many ideas, too many directions the story could go, and got overwhelmed when I tried to follow each path. It felt like playing a giant game of chess in dense fog. My writing stalled, and the doubts crowded in around me, condemning all my ideas.
I took a time-out and listened to a few of my favourite podcasts for motivation. Then I examined my thought process. This is what I discovered :
- I had too many routes the story could take, but I didn’t know exactly where they would lead
- I was afraid of getting it wrong, of writing large chunks of words, that might later be thrown out
- I wanted to be in full control and get the story almost perfect first time
That was when I got it, when I understood the nature of the first draft and the writing process. It’s about intention, trust and freedom.
I love doing warm-ups, also known as ‘free writing‘. They’re used by writers to ‘warm up’ their writing muscles before getting into their main project, a bit like an athlete stretching before a run. During these warm-ups, I just write whatever comes into my head, no matter how crazy or off topic it is. It’s pure fun, but more than that, it exercises my creative muscles and makes them stronger, so when I need them for ‘serious’ writing, they’re fit and able for the task. During these warm-ups, there is no judgement or inner critic. This was the approach I needed to use when writing my draft.
My job as a writer is to set my intention, i.e. the broad idea for my scene. Then trust my inner creative and follow it wherever it goes, typing the words onto the page. Write with freedom. If I hold my creativity on a tight leash, questioning every word, it will stifle my flow.
It’s that simple. Sure, the plot might change direction several times over the course of a hundred thousand words, but that is part of the writing process, and that is what a first draft is for – it’s a playground to set your creative muse free to dream, explore and have fun. We just have to trust it.
As Cheryl Strayed once said, “I write to find what I have to say. I edit to figure out how to say it right.”
Happy Drafting,
Harry
Useful Links
#14 Have Fun With Free Writing by Harry Brooks
#15 Free Writing’s Superpowers by Harry Brooks
How To Write The First Draft Of Your Novel by Joanna Penn
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