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?
Great post! I love the one about “you’ve finished books before – you can do it again.” Why do we as writers tend to think the last book was a fluke? 🙂 Right now I’m writing with a daily word goal and that helps me push through.
I know what you mean! That’s exactly how I was feeling when I wrote that one down – like my last book was a fluke and I’d never be able to pull something like that off again. Again with comparing our current books to our previous ones… 😀
Good luck with your daily word goal!
I love your notes! I can’t tell you how many times I had to remind myself to not worry about good and just write on my first draft. But it got me through and now I’m doing the laying and making it good thing. Still, that first draft is so nice for just letting yourself go and not worrying about getting it perfect. 🙂
That’s fantastic! Have fun with the layering. I agree – the first draft can be so fun when you just let yourself go and creativity flies everywhere. Kind of makes me want to start drafting again (though I really am enjoying doing revisions right now because I’m at a fun stage, where it’s starting to come together and feel like it has some potential, even if it’s a long way from ready.) Good luck with revisions!
I’m so glad you found me through #15tt, since it helped me find you! What a great list – I especially like the one about the draft being like an empty tortilla with layers to come later.
Rough drafts used to be soooo painful for me, and then I found NaNoWriMo a few years ago. The first one was so freeing and exhilarating and taught me lessons about letting go of the first draft that I’m now able to use on all my stories.
I’m so glad we found each other, too! Glad you liked the list.
Ooh! I’ve heard amazing things about NaNoWriMo! I’d love to try it sometime, but November is not a good month for that. Too much holiday prep, and the timing never works out for when I have a new novel anyway. Good luck if you do it this year, though! How cool that you’ve taken away several good writing habits from the times when you participated!
“an empty tortilla” lol. So apt though!
I’m a bit of a perfectionist too, but I do enjoy the freedom of a first draft.
Great post!
Thanks! Yes, there’s a wonderful freedom in the first draft, isn’t there? And, as a fellow perfectionist, it’s kind of fun to find ways to overcome the internal editor and really get creative.
Hi there! This is awesome. I especially LOVED this: “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.”
Thanks! And I’m glad you liked that one. It was pretty much the first thing I started with on my list, because I kept comparing my broken, unrevised first draft with the shiny, polished version of my previous book. So hard when we do that, isn’t it?
I love this. Exactly what I needed to read tonight.
So glad it helps, Kathryn! I think everyone needs encouragement sometimes. I have no doubt your story is amazing, though. I kind of want to read it when it’s ready.
LOVE your analogy with the model and the school pix. LOL. I’m hooked on the freedom of the first draft. Writing it feels like I’m the dog with its head out the car window just riding the wind.
Leslie, I love that image! It so perfectly fits the joy and abandon that come with the good writing days!
great post! love the line about comparing a model’s 8th grade pic to her vogue spread — so true! i’m going to share this link w my critique group. 🙂 xoxoxo
Yes! Please feel free to share the link! And the 8th grade picture was one of the first things I put on this list (though I changed the order as I compiled it) because it was so hard to let go of my previous book.
“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.”
That must have been one of the most amazing things I have ever heard as far as encouragement goes 🙂 When I’m struggling, I go and read over reviews and comments on small things I’ve posted online. I feel good about myself and motivated to impress people even more by writing more, so I go for it. (or I get distracted and don’t stop reading the comments and such for the next 5 hours…)
Oh, Bonnee, it made me so happy to read your comment! Thank you for that! It made my day. 🙂
And your idea of going back and reading positive comments on the writing you’ve posted is fantastic! Critiques are helpful, but sometimes the most helpful thing is a positive comment that encourages you to keep going and tells you, “THIS. This is your talent. This is what you should focus on. Do lots of this!” (Whatever ‘this’ is – humor, dialogue, suspense, description, family relationships, romance…)
And LOL on getting distracted and reading all those comments for the next 5 hours. The internet truly is a blessing and a curse, isn’t it? (So says the woman who just spent way too long on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and writing forums this morning instead of working on her revisions like she should!)
Silly internet is so useful but so distracting 🙂 I love reading the criticism in the comments people have given me too; it helps to focus on what I need to improve or avoid doing.
Just read over the self-encouragement list of things and feel like writing my fingers off, which I might just do! So thank you 😀
Have you heard of the program Freedom? It’s $10, and you can buy it for a Mac or PC. Basically, it turns your internet off for an amount of time that you designate. When the time is up, you can access your internet again. If you want it in the meantime, you have to restart your computer. It’s wonderful, because it’s impossible to do a quick email/Twitter/Facebook check that will turn into several hours of social networking instead of writing.
I hope you DID end up writing your fingers off this morning! Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. 😀
I loved this! And SO needed to hear it right now!
My favorite: “Have fun. Smile. And then send a knife hurtling toward your protagonist.” 🙂 🙂
So glad it helps (though not glad that you needed the inspiration). And, yes, hurl those knives! I know you do. 😀