Your First Draft is A New Lawn
Who out there feels that their first draft needs to be perfect? Please raise your hand if you fall into this group. Is your hand raised? You can lower it now and resume writing.
Think of your first draft as you would a new lawn. You’ve cultivated the soil, seeded it with ideas, characters, and plot lines. You’ve watered it with words and watched it grow. Over time and continuous growth you begin to notice rough spots and healthy patches. But that’s ok. Keep reminding yourself of this. It’s new growth. Step away from it for awhile. It will be time to mow it soon. After the first cut it will look a little better. The rough spots aren’t as hard to see now right? We’re not through though. There are some weeds that rear their ugly heads here and there. Find them and dig them up. It’s work and you hate the bare patches that pulling a good weed brings, but you can seed it again. The finished product will be worth it.
Given time and patience your prized lawn will be ready for other eyes to admire.
Photo Courtesy of Mattspov
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Comments
It’s a hard habit to break. I tend to edit during the first draft as much as I tell myself not to. It is especially grueling when pulling up an old story like you mentioned. The critics in us will always find things to change.
Thank you for sharing that post. I’ve never read that blog before.
PS - I’m so glad you’re enjoying it. Keep me posted…
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I tend to edit as I go. I probably lose thoughts doing that. It is difficult to leave a weed in the lawn. My other problem is knowing when a piece is finished. It seems that most times when I pull up an old story on the laptop, I find things to change.
There was a good blog post on: http://creativejourneycafe.com/ about daydreaming. I think you might enjoy it.
:O)
PS. I am enjoying the book! I wanted to hit Brian for submitting to his lack of confidence. He totally redeemed himself when he went to the book store.