Episode 110
First-Draft Writing Advice
There is a lot of writing advice out there, but remember that not every piece of writing advice is first-draft writing advice. So, for your convenience, today’s episode will be filled with writing advice for your first draft.
Music licensed from Storyblocks:
“More Jam Please” by Raighes Factory
Transcript
If you have plot bunnies coming out of your plot holes, it’s time for a writing break.
Hello again. We are competing with a pressure washer just outside the studio this week, so I gotta move quickly. Let’s head straight into the Writing Break cafe for some publishing news.
According to the HotSheet’s Hidden Gem list, prepper guides and coloring books had a good run last month. If you know, you know.
Publisher’s Lunch reported on “a growing trend of authors who historically published in the children’s/YA market selling their first books marketed for adults.” The distinction between YA and adult books is a bit fuzzy, but it’s nice to know that authors are not pigeon-holed for life.
NaNoWriMo is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and if you are one of the thousands of participants starting a new book this month, good luck. There is a lot of writing advice out there, but remember that not every piece of writing advice is first-draft writing advice. So, for your convenience, today’s episode will be filled with writing advice for your first draft. Let’s get a refill before reuniting on the Overthinking Couch.
Your focus for the first draft should be getting the story out. Putting the sand in the sandbox before building the castle.
Do not edit your first draft; just write. Do not concern yourself with perfect grammar, spelling, or sentence structure; just write. Your first draft is when you can take your story in different directions and explore various ideas. It will be choppy and inconsistent; that’s normal. If you’re like me, you want to fix each sentence as you write. Resist that desire; just write.
You might be a plotter working off of a meticulous outline, a pantser building the plane after you’ve jumped off the cliff, or somewhere in between. Regardless, the first draft is when you make sure your conflicts, ideas, themes, and plot points appear somewhere in the document. Your characters will not be perfectly developed at this stage. Allow them to roam free and see where they take you.
For those working on a non-fiction book, the first draft is when you learn where your true interest lies. If you’re writing a book about sustainability, for example, and you find yourself more eager to write about and research renewable energy than any of the other topics you had planned to cover, then maybe you need to refocus your book.
There are things I am sick of hearing but are true nonetheless:
Aim for progress, not perfection.
Write now, worry later.
You can’t edit a blank page.
Momentum is priceless in writing. If you get stuck on one part, skip it, and keep moving forward. Your first draft is not meant to be good; it is meant to just be. The first draft will be a rattling of the bones of your book. Rattle them bones.
In the next episode, I’ll discuss second-draft writing advice. In the meantime, finish that first draft. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, you deserved this break.
If you would like us to visit your favorite independent bookstore, feature your favorite independent author (even if it’s you), or discuss something you’re overthinking about, please email me at podcast@writingbreak.com.
Thank you for making space in your mind for The Muse today.
Writing Break is hosted by America’s Editor and produced by Allon Media with technical direction by Gus Aviles. Visit us at writingbreak.com or contact us at podcast@writingbreak.com.
