“I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” – Shannon Hale
First drafts can be a lot of things. They can be magical, frustrating, enlightening, unforgiving, unyielding, soul-destroying things. But above all of it there is an expectation – especially for first-time writers – to think that, at the end of it all, there’s going to be a magic moment of bliss, where a unicorn flies by and seals your 400-page manuscript with a kiss.
Well, honey. Let me tell you, that ain’t true…
Here’s what you should expect from your first draft:
IT'S GOING TO SUCK
I’m not sure what it is about writing your first draft that lulls you into a false sense of security, telling you it’s all going to be okay. Maybe it’s the weeks of planning you’ve spent already (if that’s your style), maybe it’s the 6 months you’ve taken to write it, maybe it’s that you’ve got it in your head that you’re the next J.R.R Hemingway King!
Truth is that first draft is gonna suck. To varying degrees.
You’re working out your story. You’re writing so fast that spelling doesn’t matter anymore. You realise that actually one of your characters did need to die, but in chapter 2, you made them invincible.
Mistakes are inevitable.
YOUR CHARACTERS HATE YOU
“My characters did exactly as I told them to during the whole draft!” – said no writer ever.
That’s the tricky thing about writing. Characters come from the same brain that your words do, yet you can’t help but find that your sulky, sullen teen is actually rather proactive and good with the ladies. You can’t help but discover that you’re nympho seductress leading lady actually prefers to sit and read.
Somehow (don’t ask me how), characters go on a run of their own. Now there are those writers that listen to them, and use it to their advantage. And there are those that whip them back into shape and put them on the right track.
Either way, when you re-read your first draft, you’ll need to redirect them on the right course.
WRITING 'THE END' IS UNDERWHELMING AS HELL
Now this is a very personal one. After I’d written the first draft to a novel, sure I celebrated. I jumped up and down, handed the manuscript to my partner and beamed.
“Woo! I did it!”
“Go you!”
Then, just two minutes later, I sat at my desk and asked myself “What next?”
Because it wasn’t over.
Writing the first draft is just the start. And while that moment is briefly amazing, you soon realise that that’s the first hurdle, and there are a thousand more to come.
"WHO THE F**K WROTE THIS?"
It’s funny. You can spend a thousand hours locked in a room by yourself, pouring your heart out on the page, yet when it comes to reading it, you wonder if it’s really you.
Mostly because it’s full of typos and reads like a cat just scratched its ass across your computer.
But mostly because, whilst thoughts make sense in your head, when writing at speed some of the messages don’t come out as clearly as you originally thought.
Hence: The second draft!
NO ONE CARES
My partner bounced up and down with me when I’d finished my first draft and written ‘The End’.
My mother nodded and left the room to make my father a cup of tea.
The magic thing with writing a book is that the people around you only give a shit when it’s finished. No one cares whether you’ve written ten drafts and you’re on your final proofreads, all people care about is the final product.
And even then it’s likely that most won’t even buy your book.
Your friends and family aren’t your target audience. Don’t focus on them. If you’re writing I’m assuming you’re doing it for you.
So write for yourself and celebrate your achievement.
I have to say that, having gone through several first drafts, I know the pains oh too well. I salute anyone and everyone that has made it to the end of that first draft, even if they’ve not gotten any further. Because dammit, some things deserve appreciation and respect.