Writing Your First Draft Slowly Is The Worst Way To Write Your Novel

I'm going to preface this by saying that I'm not a fan of the idea that your first draft is without a doubt going to be "shitty" when it's more like your first draft is allowed to be shitty.

First drafts are always far from perfect, but they aren't always the worst thing you'll ever read.

The Downsides Of Writing Slow and Steady

Sure all progress is progress and you can technically write a novel by only putting down one word a day… but by the time you reach the end of your novel - well you may never reach it at that pace. 

Writing your first draft is a process you should enjoy and be able to take at a pace that works for you - but honestly?

A first draft shouldn't take you more than a year to write. 

Your first draft is when you discover the ins and outs of your story, what takes your characters from point A to point B, all the things that motivate them, and all the things that get in their way.

Including themselves. 

This draft is going to be far from perfect since with each chapter you write you'll learn more and more about your story so of course there will be things you have to back and add to the beginning or take away to make the story flow better. 

The editing stage of novel writing can take you anywhere from a few months to even a year or more so that is where you should be spending most of your energy.

 Not just getting the words down onto the page. 

Think of your first draft as the ready, set, go, moment. 

You don't want to fly through it and miss the scenery, but you also need to get to the finish line before they pack it up and go home for the day. 

Spend a few days a week writing. 

This can be in sessions as short as 10 minutes to as long as 10 hours if you have the time to spare but don't just keep putting it off saying that you'll get to it one day.

You don't want to leave a half-written book behind. 

Grab that notebook full of novel ideas and just start writing one. 

Dedicate yourself to spending the time to get that first draft down on the page and then spend as much time as you need or want to turn it into the amazing novel that it's meant to be. 

But you can't do that if the story is still living in your head. 

Stop putting it off. 

Go get to writing.

With love, 

B.K. xo xo

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