Your mindset for the first draft
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My first draft is definitely just a draft. I do go back and tweak things here and there, but it's all going to get refined anyway, so I like to plow through it and get everything down.
I have readers who look for specific things—a professor of rhetoric who looks at language issues, a fantasy gamer guy who tells me if my battles are exciting or not, a feminist who keeps my main character from unconsciously coming across as a dumbass—all of their comments are going to demand changes. Then my agent will want me to change things. Then my editor. All of 'em are going to make sure my stuff is the best it can be, but that process can't begin until I get a first draft done. Keep on marchin' through it!
I have readers who look for specific things—a professor of rhetoric who looks at language issues, a fantasy gamer guy who tells me if my battles are exciting or not, a feminist who keeps my main character from unconsciously coming across as a dumbass—all of their comments are going to demand changes. Then my agent will want me to change things. Then my editor. All of 'em are going to make sure my stuff is the best it can be, but that process can't begin until I get a first draft done. Keep on marchin' through it!
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"Get it right the first time."
But that's just me. I edit the previous day's work as I go, so I try to have a tight, concise first draft. But I'm a minimal kind of writer, so I can get away with it.
But that's just me. I edit the previous day's work as I go, so I try to have a tight, concise first draft. But I'm a minimal kind of writer, so I can get away with it.
Good lord. The thought of having to get it right the first time makes me feel faint.
I know I write a messy first draft and I don't have a lot of fun doing it either. But then I really enjoy revising.
I know I write a messy first draft and I don't have a lot of fun doing it either. But then I really enjoy revising.
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My first draft is the best I can make it. I do not give myself permission to write anything less than my best. That said, I generally need to make revisions but the revisions aren't nearly as extensive as they'd probably be if I didn't take a lot of care with the first draft.
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I simply roll through my first draft and am usually amazed how much of it is actually pretty good--considering how limited my talent is. When I revise, it's usually to get rid of grammatical errors and perhaps to move a few scenes around.
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I'm always amazed at the responses in this forum. Just shows that the writing process is unique to each individual, and good advice for one author won't work for another.
In the first draft, I work hard to get the story arc and subplots onto the page in some fashion and excuse the shoddy writing. Everything's going to get rewritten anyway, so the goal is to have something to rework.
In the first draft, I work hard to get the story arc and subplots onto the page in some fashion and excuse the shoddy writing. Everything's going to get rewritten anyway, so the goal is to have something to rework.
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It's what I get for having computer programming as a day job. The more of it I get right the first time, the less time I need to spend fixing stupid stuff.
My mindset is also 'Get it all right the first time'. I do detailed outlines and generally have everything figured out ahead of time, so it's not an unrealistic goal, really. Of course, I still have to go back through and fix grammatical errors and awkward sentences, but my goal is to just have light editing left at the end.
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The first manuscript was hell because I didn't edit after I wrote. That sucker took 6+ months to prepare. SWELL, on the other hand, took three total because I edited every chapter after it was finished, ran it through my awesome beta reader, and edited it again. It made the process smooth as silk and me a lot nicer person!
- Julie
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Mindset: get everything down. I outline and know my story and characters pretty well before I start the first draft, so once the first draft is done I spend most of my time cutting (my first drafts are quite bloated). My goal is three drafts, max.
I am quite relaxed but I try to write it the way I want it to be. I don't worry if there are things I need to change but generally I don't write with the intention of changing anything.
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I leave the subplots out. I have such a horrendous time with them that I wouldn't finish, so I insert them as close to the final draft as possible.
Grammar, punctuation, sentence structure--I try to get that reasonably correct. I was once handed someone's rough draft, and he'd written it without any punctuation. All I could think was that he was going to have to do an awful lot of proofreading just to get it into shape, and even then, he would still miss even more.
Grammar, punctuation, sentence structure--I try to get that reasonably correct. I was once handed someone's rough draft, and he'd written it without any punctuation. All I could think was that he was going to have to do an awful lot of proofreading just to get it into shape, and even then, he would still miss even more.
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I try to write it right the first time, or at least to a standard where there's (hopefully) minimal editing to be done.
But SP is right - just get it written. Some people have a rough time with first drafts, but you'll never get anywhere unless you finish.
But SP is right - just get it written. Some people have a rough time with first drafts, but you'll never get anywhere unless you finish.
The attitude I'm aiming for (but not always hitting) in my current WIP is "just keep going, you can go back and fix stuff later."
I kind of try to get the story down as right as I can on the first draft, but I edit language, style, character development, dialogue etc a lot on the first and second edits.
So far, I tend not worry so much about perfect wording, breaking up long paragraphs, or anything like that. However, I do worry about making sure my story goes in the right direction. I got stuck on my second chapter all last week because I kept changing my mind about what would happen, eventually leading me to revise my entire plot (for the better.)
So, I guess First Draft is me telling the story to myself and seeing if the story itself is good.
Later drafts are there to make the actual telling of the story good.
Oh, and I do strive to use correct punctuation, spelling, and all that kind of stuff during the first draft. I just don't sweat things like "should I break up this paragraph?" or "is this an infodump?" I can always fix those later.
So, I guess First Draft is me telling the story to myself and seeing if the story itself is good.
Later drafts are there to make the actual telling of the story good.
Oh, and I do strive to use correct punctuation, spelling, and all that kind of stuff during the first draft. I just don't sweat things like "should I break up this paragraph?" or "is this an infodump?" I can always fix those later.
First Drafts
Writing the first draft as advocated by the NaNo writing month of November, is a great way to start. By just writing whatever is needed to tell the story is a great way to start. The plotline and characters don't have to be fully developed until later, which is what typically happens once you become more familiar with the story. I do think about where the story is going, but never where it will end up because that could change several times before it's completed. First drafts are great for mapping and planning and for getting your characters where they need to go.
Writing the first draft as advocated by the NaNo writing month of November, is a great way to start. By just writing whatever is needed to tell the story is a great way to start. The plotline and characters don't have to be fully developed until later, which is what typically happens once you become more familiar with the story. I do think about where the story is going, but never where it will end up because that could change several times before it's completed. First drafts are great for mapping and planning and for getting your characters where they need to go.
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