We all know about the “shitty first draft.”
This concept says your first draft of anything is always going to be bad, no matter what.
I understand where this idea comes from, but I’ve always had a little trouble with it.
It’s true that first drafts are often a meandering, disorganized experience and the end result is far from polished. But after writing two novels and many short stories over the last decade of my writing life, I have a different take on first drafts.
I don’t believe that a first draft is inherently awful. Far from it, actually.
First Drafts Are Messy, Not Shitty
Instead of proclaiming all first drafts are shitty, we should actually make a clear distinction between a piece of writing that’s messy and one that is truly shitty. Because… there’s a huge difference.
Shitty is bad. It means unworthy, unimportant, meh. Not worth your time.
Your first draft, that thing you spend hours and weeks and maybe even years of your life working on, is far from unworthy.
Yeah, you’re not going to take your first draft directly to an agent without even giving it a second read and try to pitch it, but that doesn’t mean it’s inherently bad. It just means it’s messy and unpolished.
The First Draft Is Your Chance To Try It All
OF COURSE your first draft is a mess!
If you’re taking full advantage of the landscape of a first draft, it means you try everything.
Every idea that seems remotely important, every style of writing that feels good, every character you want to explore. You do it all, try it all, write it all.
Because so much is going on in a first draft, it’s often a bit of a mess. But that’s truly the point!
You only get one shot at a first try, when the story is brand new and exciting and has ALL the potential in the world. You SHOULD be making a mess while you’re figuring it out.
Second and third and fourth drafts will require you to refine your vision and scope, but in a first draft, you’re free to play.
Don’t save anything for later. Put it all on the page and let future-you deal with cleaning it up.
Give Yourself Permission To Make A Mess While Still Writing Well
Part of what I hate about the “shitty first draft” is that it feels like a cop-out for lazy writing.
I think that even in a messy, uncertain, disorganized first draft, you should still write with care.
When you respect your writing, you want to do it well even when you’re making a mess.
Give yourself permission to write a messy draft while still caring about craft. You can write something that needs to be totally overhauled later but still pay close attention to the way you’re building the story.
The macro of your story might be a mess, but that doesn’t mean the micro needs to be thrown together carelessly.
Sure, maybe later you’ll have to fix some typos or grammar and tense issues. That’s simple enough.
I’m talking about the way you describe things in your story, the choices you make about dialogue and sentence structure and language. You can still give those elements of writing all your care even if the piece itself needs a lot of work.
I believe the more you love the sentences you’ve written, the more you’ll care about revision later anyway.
When you care about what’s inside your house, you want to make it as structurally sound as possible, right? Same idea with your writing!
Stop Trashing Your Work, Period
It might feel logical or safe to qualify your work as a shitty first draft when you share it with others for feedback, but I think it’s time we stopped trashing our own work.
Remember, calling something shitty is akin to saying it’s bad and unworthy. Why would anyone want to read something you claim is bad?
Here are some other things you can say about your newest work instead:
This is a brand new story, so I’m still working out some kinks, but I’m proud of it so far!
I haven’t done a round of revision yet, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on this draft.
The story as a whole is a little messy still, but that’s because it’s the first draft.
I’m so excited to start my next draft and see how much stronger this piece will be after revision.
It really doesn’t serve you or anyone who reads your work if you’re in a self-deprecating mindset when it comes to your first drafts, so try changing how you talk about your work entirely.
Let other people know it’s still early, but you’re proud of what you created so far. There’s no shame in that!
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