One of my students told me she was in first draft hell. She said: “I’ve got three novels, all first drafts. How do I turn them into something publishable? Maybe I should just delete them.”
No, I assured her. DO NOT delete anything. In fact, kudos to you for a lot of brain power, effort, and just plain work. Look on your first draft as mud. (We discuss the wonderful benefits of mud in the Top 70 Writing Tips.)
First draft: write as much as you can so you have raw material to edit
Your first draft of anything: a blog post, a short story, or a novel, is a great beginning; it’s a good and essential start because it’s you, unfiltered, unedited: raw on the page. It’s mud too because it’s the building blocks which you’ll turn into something good. I like the term mud because it’s honest. Mud is messy, but mix it with straw, shape it into bricks, dry it, and you can build an entire house.
If you haven’t completed your first draft:
- Keep writing. You’re creating your raw material.
- Finish the draft.
- Then edit, and build.
Relax when writing; everything is fixable.
Your first draft edits: decorating the Christmas tree
I look at edits as though I’m decorating a Christmas tree.
To begin your edits, shape your tree:
- What’s the point of your story? (The tree.)
- Decorate, don’t label (show it.)
Let’s look at how to get started making your draft publication-worthy; the big picture version.
1. What’s the point of your story? Put it on the page
Every story needs a point; a reason for existence, and that reason must be obvious to the reader. Aim to put your reason on the page: for your own sake (it makes editing easier), as well as the reader’s sake (he knows why he’s reading).
In Pride and Prejudice, the point is the first line of the novel:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
If you’re stuck — you’ve completed the draft, but you’re not certain what your point may be, create a list of your scenes. We looked at some tips to make the most of your scenes. However, don’t start rewriting anything until you’ve decided on your point. What are you trying to say?
Look at your genre. If you’re writing a mystery, the point may be the solution. Your sleuth solves the mystery: the entire novel leads to this point, and he’s transformed. (A common mystery or suspense trope is your sleuth giving up drinking, or changing in some other way.)
Many writing teachers recommend putting your novel aside for a month or two so that you can see your story as it’s written. When you’ve just finished your draft, the story is vivid, and that’s a problem: half the story may still be in your head.
2. Avoid labels: show it with scenes
Are you a new author? Scenes can be a challenge, so look at them in this way: a scene happens in real time, you’re showing. Narrative on the other hand, is telling. You need both.
You’ve lots of experience with scenes because visual media is all scenes. Here’s an author who learned about scenes while watching TV:
“I came across one of the best lessons I’ve ever seen for crafting an opening to a novel.”
As a rule of thumb, the BIG events in your fiction are shown in scenes — scenes are dramatic. Narration leads the reader from one scene to another.
Narration may be short or long. Here’s some short narration between scenes:
- “a year later …”
- “when he arrived in Paris, Dave met Ella at …”
- “When she left high school …”
Yes, you need to write first drafts
I’ve been asked whether it’s necessary to write a first draft. After all, we’ve got AI that can do that …
My response … Yes, you DO need to write a first draft; algorithms and databases aren’t intelligent; they’re fake. Please don’t start a writing project with fakery. Additionally, it’s impossible to edit machine-writing. There’s no there, there. Machines can imitate writers and sprinkle glitter on top, but they’re not a person.
Your writing is YOU or it’s nothing. Believe it: you’re an original. Only you can write your first draft and shape it into something worth reading.
If you’ve been watching new authors achieve their dreams, you’re wondering whether you can become a successful author too. You can. “The One Week Fiction Author: Have Fun And Turn Your Imagination Into Profits” is a program designed specifically for new authors. It’s for you if you’re ready to kickstart your writing career and transform your imagination into a profitable business.Introducing: The One Week Fiction Author: Have Fun And Turn Your Imagination Into Profits
Angela Booth’s Top 70 Writing Tips: Write More, Improve Your Writing, And Make More Money
What's holding you back from the writing career of your dreams?
New edition, 2023
If you want to write more, sell more, and have more fun writing... it's easier than you can imagine. Discover the secret to writing every day, and becoming a prolific writer.
- How to let your subconscious mind do the work of writing for you.
- Ways to structure your writing: you can use these forms to write anything you choose, including articles, short stories, novels, blog posts.
- Five ways to turn off your inner editor, and three ways to bring him back when you need him.
- How to develop your imagination: see it, and believe it, so that you can achieve any goal you care to set.
- How to get inspired on demand.
- Sixteen professional writers’ secrets to help you to write more.
- Ways to set writing goals that are fun and achievable for you, and ideas for scaling up your goals so that you can achieve your dreams as a writer.
- How to write truthfully and write more: turn off your inner censor.
- Six ways to get your writing unstuck, and four ways to write when you have NO TIME to write.
- How to get comfortable outside your comfort zone. Now you can confidently take on any writing jobs and tasks you choose.
- Exercises: each writing tip has an accompanying exercise, so that you can put the tip into practice instantly.
