First Drafts – Jean's Writing

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.