Here’s the thing about first drafts: They are fun, but they are also scary. They are messy and muddled and awkward and hard. They have no guarantee. And they can make perfectionists like me very, very uncomfortable.
But they are worth it for the times when everything works and, anyway, they have to be done in order to get to revisions. Even on the difficult days.
And those days do come.
Unfortunately, there’s no category for Personal Cheering Section in the help-wanted ads, and the cats would rather sleep on the couch than rah-rah-rah me into getting all the new words written. So when I’ve used up my last jar of inspiration, and my motivation has fled, I have to flail those pom-poms myself.
Throughout my recent two-month long frenzy of creative chaos — otherwise known as a first draft — I did just that. To be specific, I built a page of reminders to look at any time my typing lagged. As the manuscript grew, so did my list, because I learn new things every time I write a book or, more likely, I learn the same things over and over, forgetting in between.
Here, prettied up for your sake, and shared in case it provides inspiration (perhaps to those embarking on NaNoWriMo), is my memo to myself:
Tell a good story.
Write now. Revise later.
Have fun. Smile. And then send a knife hurtling toward your protagonist.
Go on. She can take it.
Forget layering in emotion, setting, symbols, and theme for now. This is an empty tortilla, baby. Only one floppy layer to be had. Fill it later.
At some point — usually three days — it will be harder to stop than it is to keep going.
Until then, write it anyway.
You have finished books before. You will do it again.
Probably even this one.
Comparing an untamed first draft to a previous book’s reworked, polished, final form is like comparing a supermodel’s eighth grade school picture with her Vogue spread. Not fair. Everyone looks awkward at the beginning. The pretty comes later.
The book will not be perfect.
The book will not be perfect.
The book will not be perfect.
But it can be fixed. That’s what revisions are for.
Just type.
Don’t look down.
How do you convince yourself to keep going on difficult writing days?
Need to print and put by the computer. Really.
Go for it! I hope it helps. 🙂
Our writing should continually mature. So will it be perfect? I don’t think so.
I agree. And when you do think it’s perfect it might be time to set it aside for a while because time may point out things that too much closeness makes it impossible to see. Or give it out to a critique partner who has a knack for seeing something new. That said, we probably don’t want a story that no one finds fault with, because those tend to be pretty bland, as you end up cutting something that one person didn’t like and another one loved.
Thanks for chiming in! Happy writing!
This is great advice that I needed to hear. I’ve bookmarked it for inspiration. Thank you!
Hey, I have a folder for inspiring bookmarks on my computer, too! It can be really nice for when I need a little pick-me-up. Hmmmm. Maybe I should have mentioned that in this post, too…
Such an inspiring post! I am just beginning my writing career and am finding too many “knives” thrown at me. Love that line! Thanks for the pick-me-up.
Good luck! At the beginning it’s so exciting but also daunting. I hope the knives are dulled with time – or that they stop being hurled altogether!
Awesome post! Can I just say how much I LOVED this: “This is an empty tortilla, baby. Only one floppy layer to be had. Fill it later.”
It was what I needed to hear! Thanks! 😀
So glad you liked it, Monica! It’s so easy to feel like that first draft has to have *everything* in it, isn’t it?
Perfect. I aslo LOVE the tortilla analogy. (I tend to think about all of the wonderful flavors/characters/complications before making sure that tortilla layer is down. I often refer to the one book (the “house” from my blog) as a mess but I think I’ll start calling it a messy plate full of layers–and set down to make sure I have a whole tortilla to put them in!)
Wow! Love how you really expanded on the tortilla analogy. What you said is so true. And I still love your house analogy, too. So apt!
Love the tortilla visual. Perfect. 🙂
Thanks, Liz!
Wow, this is perfect for me right now. My WIP is so hard to complete for me right now. I just need to tell myself to keep going, keep going…. I love the part where you mention that you have finished books before. You will do it again. That might be what I will have to tell myself as I write. Thank you 🙂
Good luck with your WIP! I hope it’s just a tricky stage and that you’re able to pick up momentum soon. And, yes, there’s a certain confidence that comes from having completed one book, isn’t there? Then at least you know you can do it.
this is so true! i love one first draft i just did, but another isnt electrifying me. neither are perfect, but i have to love the story & characters to be willing to put in the mega editing hours!!
Yes! Revisions are definitely a labor of love, aren’t they? Good luck with them!
You are awesome for thinking of creating this list! I love it and I think it is so helpful. I really appreciate you sharing this list with us because you have things on this list that we can all benefit from remembering while we are writing- or stuck while writing. THANKS!
Thanks! I just realized I kept telling myself these things, and finally thought I should probably write them down. Then whenever my motivation flagged I could quickly look back at the list. It helped.