How to Start Drafting A Novel
Love it or hate, drafting is essential for getting your book written. For some writers, drafting is their favourite part (that’s definitely the case for me!). For others, drafting is like pulling teeth. Those words need to get on the page somehow and for whatever reason it doesn’t feel possible for you.
However, there are a few ways you can approach drafting to make it that much more easier for the words to come and the story to be told.
Firstly: know your story
Even if you’re a discovery writer (or pantser) who knows very little about their story before writing and likes to uncover it along the way, it helps to have some idea of where the story is going.
A few helpful points to know are:
Who is the protagonist?
Who opposes them?
What is the central conflict?
What will force the protagonist into action? (ie: what is the inciting incident that sets the plot in motion?)
Knowing your story somewhat before you begin can limit creative blocks and plot holes while you’re writing. Having said that, if you are not a natural planner then don’t force yourself to plan. (I’ve definitely been there and planning as a pantser can stunt your creativity and leave you feeling frustrated.)
If you don’t want to know the ins and outs of your story, then consider some of the following prompts so you are familiar with the essence of your story.
What do you want the story to say? (eg: will it be a commentary on something or an exploration of something deeply personal to you?)
What kind of story do you want to tell? (eg: a heartfelt tale of second-chance romance.)
What is the tone and mood you want to convey?
How do you want the reader to feel when reading?
Sometimes knowing what we wish to achieve is enough to keep us on track and ensure we create the vision we intended.
Secondly: find the time
Writing a novel takes time above all else. Everyone’s writing routines and schedules will look different depending on their daily commitments and energy levels. However, knowing when you can make time to write will help you commit to your story and make progress.
Start building a routine by considering:
When you’re most creative (eg: in the morning, in the evening after dinner, etc.).
Where you can write (eg: preferably somewhere where you won’t feel distracted).
Where the time gaps are in your day (eg: if you can wake up an hour earlier to write before work, if you can write on your lunch break, etc.).
Strict routines and time blocking work for some writers and not for others. If you’re a mood writer who needs the flexibility (like me), then consider more overarching goals to keep you accountable throughout the week. These could be a weekly word count or weekly story progress calculated by scenes written.
The different drafting methods
Draft 0
A Draft 0 is characterised by a bare bones approach. You’re not spending time worldbuilding, adding detail, or fleshing out characters. Instead, you’re getting the minimum amount of storytelling out on the page as a foundation that can be built upon.
Some of the benefits to this method are:
Removing perfectionism pressure
Getting a bird’s eye view of your story to see what is and isn’t working plot-wise
Completing the initial draft quickly
Not getting bogged down in the nitty gritty of details
Some drawbacks of this method are that the first draft is not really “done” and that you might struggle with finding the balance of adding enough of the story to keep it moving but not so much that you’re writing a complete draft.
Out of order drafting
Most writers are chronological writers, so they start at the beginning and end at the end. They write every scene in order to ensure they understand the flow of the plot and don’t get confused. While this is a popular and effective method, its one limitation is that if you encounter creative blocks or writing slumps, it’s very hard to keep pushing forward and making progress. Writing out of orders means you can jump around within your novel and write whichever scene takes your fancy so you feel less restricted. This can also help remove some of the perfectionist habits.
However, if you plan to adopt this approach, it’s important to know that the most effective way of doing this is by planning. By planning your novel you’ll be able to jump around in the timeline without getting confused or writing yourself into corners. If you are a pantser, you may enjoy the freedom of discovery, but writing out of order might give you more work in the long run if you find that what you’re writing isn’t coherent and elements need to be replotted to ensure continuity.
Edit as you go
The “edit as you go” approach is not one that is usually advocated. The reason for this is that it can slow you down, make you focus on perfectionism, and risk feeling incapable of moving forward. However, I know several writers who love this approach and prefer taking their time to write a little bit, edit a little bit, write a little bit, edit a little bit.
In order to make this approach effective and efficient, try setting a timer for editing. When you open your document, give yourself ten minutes to go over what was recently written and make tweaks. Use that time to familiarise yourself with the story again and clean up an glaring issues in the prose.
When the timer goes off, stop editing and start drafting. By setting a timer you’ll limit your chances of falling down the editing rabbit hole until you feel like you just want to rewrite everything rather than continue drafting.
Drafting a novel takes time and patience above all else. It can mean a lot of trial and error until you find a system that works for you and allows you to make progress confidently.
If you’d like to plan and draft your novel effectively, my 16-Week Planning & Drafting Coaching is for you. Over 16 weeks I’ll be with you every step of the way to help you develop your ideas and provide feedback on your writing. Writing a first draft has never been so easy!
