4 Ways To Make It Through Your First Draft
First drafts. Love them or hate them, they are a necessary part of the writing process if you’re going to tell your story.
For some writers, first drafts are the most exciting part (hi, that’s me). It’s where we get to let our imagination run wild, unlock our creativity, and not be restrained by expectations.
For others, it’s like pulling teeth. The words don’t flow, the pressure to get something good on the page turns into an anxiety resulting in zero words getting written. For those writers, the first draft feels like trekking across an unknown mountain at night without a compass.
But the first draft doesn’t have to feel like that. I can’t promise you’ll enjoy it, but you can hate it a little bit less.
What can make the first draft so difficult?
Writers can struggle with the first draft for many reasons. Some of these include:
Lack of plotting and story understanding
Impostor Syndrome and self doubt
Lack of routine and motivation
Overwhelm and self-inflicted pressure
Often, writers let their perfectionism hold them back from making progress, which can lead to mindset blocks and doubt and result in no words being written.
The most important rule of first drafts: it doesn’t need to be perfect. As the great Terry Pratchett once said: The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.
The first draft is your first attempt. It’s the rawest, ugliest version of that story you’ll ever create. And you know what? That’s OK.
If you struggle to get through your first drafts, here are 4 tips that might help!
#1 Avoid editing as you go
Some editing as you go can be helpful if it gets ideas out of your head and makes it easy to move forward. Some writers like to reread the previous scene or chapter to get back into the flow, and that will often mean a bit of rewriting and tweaking.
Editing as you go becomes problematic when you find yourself rewriting instead of drafting. Don't let the desire to be ‘perfect’ stop you from making progress. Don’t edit at the expense of writing, or focus on improving what’s already been written if it will take away from advancing your story.
To avoid this, make notes in a separate document of the changes that need to occur and when/where/how you will fit them in. This allows you to get the ideas out and continue writing as though those changes have been made.
Alternatively, set a timer for 15 minutes and give yourself a set amount of time to edit what you’ve previously written. Then, when the time is up, move along and keep your story going. The most important thing is that you don’t get caught in an endless cycle of editing that stops you from finishing your story.
#2 Use placeholders
One helpful way to get through the first draft is to use placeholders or brackets. These are things like [describe room] or “she wore a dress of [description]”. Placeholders and brackets allow you to skip the little details to avoid getting bogged down in research or the nitty-gritty of specifics. This means you can focus on writing rather than researching or fine-tuning your prose.
Some things may not be able to be skipped with placeholders. If that’s the case and you need to stop writing to research or check details, that’s OK. Ensure that you don’t let that distract you from continuing to write. If you need to quickly Google the name of 15th century weaponry, that’s fine, but avoid falling down a rabbit hole of research for things you don’t need in your book. Setting timers or having strict boundaries for “research time” can help you stay on track.
#3 Learn to accept imperfections
Many writers struggle from perfectionism. This can make it hard to move ahead when we have written what we consider to be an “imperfect” scene or chapter. Maybe it wasn’t our best work but we don’t know why. Or maybe we do know why and we’re annoyed that we didn’t nail it on the first try. Unfortunately, that’s part of the drafting process. Imperfections are to be expected in the first draft. The first draft is just to tell yourself the story and get it out of your head. It’s building the foundation and discovering the potential of your idea. Revisions are where you can make tweaks and changes and develop your writing for further impact. When drafting, just focus on getting to the end and make your peace with some things needing work. (I know that’s easier said than done.)
#4 Seek support from others
Perhaps one of the most effective ways for many writers to make it through their draft is to seek support. This could mean having a critique partner and fellow writer read your chapters as you write them, having an accountability partner, joining a writing community, having writing sprints, or working with a writing coach who can help you through the ups and downs of drafting. Having support, especially in the drafting phase, can take some of the “perfectionism” pressure off. You need to get comfortable with imperfect writing days or someone seeing your work in its rawest form. Having someone else’s support — especially a trained writing coach — can help you persevere and overcome mindset and creativity blocks.
How to keep seeing progress…
If you're struggling to get words on the page, here are some quick tips to keep making progress:
Set a daily or weekly target — eg: word count, time — to help you stick to a writing plan and show up for your story.
Create a writing routine that will support your creativity.
Set up a writing space that will encourage creative output.
Journal and reflect on motivation and hurdles so you can try to overcome them.
Get an accountability partner or writing coach to help you stay committed to your book.
Be kind to yourself and take breaks when you need them so you don’t burn out and hate the creative process.
Give yourself grace and don’t add pressure if you don’t work well with it.
Writing should be freeing and enjoyable. If it’s not, then it may be time to reconsider how you’re approaching writing and how you can find the joy in it.
If you struggle to finish the books your start or find your perfectionism stalling your progess, my 16-Week Planning & Drafting Coaching is designed specifically for writers like you. Over four months, I’ll be with you every step of the way to ensure you stay accountable, motivated, and committed to your story so you can finally start seeing progress. You can learn more about my coaching here to see how it can help you.
