Great reminder on what not to worry about

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

In other words…

I need to use this as my screen saver. A constant reminder that my first draft doesn’t have to be perfect.

I’ve rewritten the same chapter at least five times. Tweaking a comma here, a comma there, putting commas everywhere only to go back rewrite the sentence and throw out all the commas.

That’s just one example of how I worry over small stuff that should wait until the damn book is finished.

Thanks go out to Janice Hardy over at Fiction University for a great reminder in this terrific post on writing first and fixing last.

Things I want to remember about writing…

  • The novel doesn’t have to be planned and structured to the last detail before I start writing.
  • Complete the thought and don’t worry about crossing every t and dotting every eye. Time for that later.
  • Don’t worry about too many characters in a draft. You can delete those who don’t pull their weight later during editing.
  • Writing a scene where a character has a freak out, don’t worry if’s too over the top. During editing, you can calm her ass down if needed.
  • About world building… Get the world down in that first draft. You can flesh out and make the world more real during editing.
  • It’s okay for my first draft to be a mess.
  • It’s okay that inconsistencies and scattered thoughts fill my first draft. I can yank out anything that doesn’t fit later.
  • It’s okay to throw everything and anything in my novel. Just like dirty dishes, I can wash, dry and put in proper place later.

Click and read this post by Janice and see if you find a few tips to free your creative writing muse.

It’s a Start: What Not to Worry About in a First Draft

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15 thoughts on “Great reminder on what not to worry about”

  8. Janice Hardy is my go to for writing posts! However, my brain works in a detailed way. Editing chapters gets done as I go along. It gives me a sense of balance and then I go forward. Research is included so that’s an addition. Dates, times & places have to be correct! I don’t have a time crunch on finishing & publishing the book. I do work from a structured elements outline. Happy Writing! 📚 Christine

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  10. Remember, the second part of your opening quote is, “It’s all small stuff.” Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into? I haven’t even begun the rewrites as I’m still writing the first draft!

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  13. I totally agree. That’s how I write my first drafts, or rather, “proto-drafts.” Writing in longhand helps — it isn’t so easy to go back and tinker with details, so I keep going. When I type the proto-draft into Word, I clean up some of the bigger issues, but don’t worry at all about the niceties of grammar, etc. Once I have a complete first draft in Word, I give it a rest and then return to it with my editor’s brain. It’s exhausting to keep switching from creator’s brain to editor’s brain. Both the writer and the work suffer.

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