Your First Draft Is Allowed to Be Terrible

By Susie A. Taylor | Story Strategist | Susie Taylor Marketing | Join the World Referral Network for FREE!

You have an idea.

You open a blank document, write two sentences, read them back, decide they sound terrible, delete everything, and quietly conclude that maybe you are not a writer.

But lack of ability may not be the problem.

The problem may be expecting a first draft to look like a finished one.

First drafts and final drafts have different jobs.

A first draft helps you discover what you are actually trying to say. It gives shape to thoughts that may still be incomplete, repetitive, or unclear.

Editing comes later.

After all, you can't polish words that don't exist.

Trying to write and edit at the same time can make that difficult. When every sentence is judged before the next one has a chance to appear, momentum disappears.

So give yourself permission to write awkwardly.

Repeat yourself. Leave a blank where the perfect word should go. Write the obvious sentence. Put down something clumsy and keep moving.

A messy draft can still contain valuable material.

Maybe there's one strong sentence buried inside it. Maybe you discover an idea you didn't know you had. Maybe the structure becomes clearer halfway through. Maybe one paragraph points toward an entirely better piece.

The first draft doesn't need to impress anyone.

It needs to reveal possibilities.

Much of good writing happens during revision anyway. Strong writers are not necessarily people who produce perfect sentences immediately. They're often people willing to return, cut, rearrange, clarify, reconsider, and try again.

It can help to separate the process:

Draft first. Judge later.

When you're stuck, write the simplest version of what you mean, even if it sounds clumsy.

A terrible first draft is not proof that you can't write.

It's proof that you have something to work with.

You can improve a bad page. You cannot revise a blank one.

#Writing #Creativity #FirstDraft #CreativeProcess #PersonalGrowth #Perfectionism #Revision