What to Do with the 1st Draft: An Essay on Writing

A first draft is often key to writing a good story. In this essay, I will explain what I try to do with my first drafts. Sometimes writing an outline can help with things like a lengthy article or novel, but it isn't always needed in a short story.

What needs to get on the page in the first draft? It doesn't have to be the villain in every case, but usually you need your hero should be foremost in your first draft. You will need a distinct voice in the piece, and, if it's fiction, that hero will need to change in some way. Even if it's a short story, your characters should develop in some fashion. The classic model for this is the coming-of-age storyline where a young characters grows up over the course of a few or many pages. This has been told by everyone, from tales by F.Scott Fitzgerald to more modern pieces by the likes of John Updike and Stephen King. The key in the first draft is to continue, to write faster than the doubts that will persist you. You can't do it, they will say, your wasting your time.Many people don't consider the artistic expression of words as a true career, that the money will never come and instead rejection will be the writer's companion.

This means to write with abandon. Get that grim detective drama out so fast. I've written before that you should sometimes slow down your prose, or major mistakes will be made. This is true, but recent experience tells me it's a combination of both, because the doubts will halt the writing altogether if the writer doesn't record as much as possible.

The first draft is about avoiding the constant thoughts, of sticking to a regimine of daily writing, telling a quality story, and enjoying the process.

You will make mistakes as you go along, whether it be fast or slow. Perhaps the next day you will see them; don't let this stop you from continuing-a writer should never let the muse go.

Where do you get all the ideas for the first draft? The first draft should not come from one idea you just had, but one you've been thinking hard on for at least a few weeks.

Do not overthink the process, just let the words out.

In the end, the first draft won't be the published manuscript. You will have time to edit. Some writers edit as they go, like John Updike, but by breaking down your own barriers it allows the fiction to have weight.

As most of this has pertained to fiction, an article on the first draft of a non-fiction article will be forthcoming.