Why First Draft Writing Sucks

 "I'm increasingly convinced that while no great book can be written in a month, no great book can be written in a first draft no matter how long it takes you to write it." – John Green

Photo credit: Truthout.org on Flickr
With NaNoWriMo in full swing, a lot of you are writing first drafts. 

Getting the first draft down is, in many ways, the best and worst part of writing.

Most writers love getting the first draft down for many reasons— the discovery for example, of a new world, of new characters and situations and creating a universe that until that moment didn't exist is mesmerizing. Or that moment when you really get in the zone and the writing just flows— incredible.

But writers often hate writing the first draft, too— it just depends what day you ask them, because writing a first draft is hard. Sometimes you get stuck and getting even a single word out is about as painful as repeatedly watching a Teletubbies episode with your eyes taped open.

Then there's the moment when you realize everything you've written sucks. Sometimes it hits you half-way through, sometimes before that and sometimes after you've completed the whole thing— but most writers will reach a point where it occurs to them that this sparkly first draft isn't so sparkly after all. It sounded great in your head— why doesn't it feel like it on the page?

Truth is guys, writing the first draft is hard, and oftentimes it doesn't come out anything like the way you imagined. Your first draft can feel like a disappointment, like you've somehow let yourself (and your future readers) down by writing this terrible drivel and calling it a novel. Sometimes the doubt and disappointment is so intense that writers feel like giving up.

Don't do it.

Guess what? 9/10 times your first draft is going to suck. What's worse is that feeling isn't going to go away— it doesn't matter if it's your first novel or your fifth, writers are notoriously unhappy with their first drafts.

Don't believe me? That John Green quote up there comes from this amusing and informative video on NaNoWriMo— you should check it out:


In case you don't watch it though, he makes another great point about writing first drafts:

"…if you want to think about it like sculpture, writing a first draft is like digging the clay out of the ground and revision is when you actually use the clay to like, build something that you like."

And my last gem from the video:

"What NaNoWriMo does for writers young and old, is give us permission to suck. So NaNoWriMo forces you to be disciplined and it gives you permission to suck, which are two of the things you most need if you're going to be a novelist."

So yes, first draft writing often sucks, especially when we can't stand what we've written so far, but guess what? It's ok, in fact, it's even to be expected.

And John Green isn’t the only one who thinks so—Tahereh Mafi posted a while ago about not being afraid to write a bad book.

If writing is hard, then writing the first draft is excruciatingly difficult— but don't worry about writing poorly. Right now you're just digging up the clay. The masterpiece will emerge in revision.

First draft writing is pretty big right now with NaNoWriMo— tell us your first draft writing experience (past or present). What do you love and hate about getting the first draft down?

28 comments:

Susankayequinn said...

John Green is so amazingly awesome. And he's doing NaNo!! Is it me, or is an insane number of very cool people jumping on the NaNo bandwagon this year? #awesome

BTW, I love first drafts, even when they're hard. (I like hard; I'm wierd) Ok, off to draft more today ... ;)

Ava Jae said...

There are SO many people doing NaNo this year! Although, it's hard for me to compare since I wasn't on Twitter before...

I've really learned to love whatever part of the process I'm in, but I won't deny that it can be difficult, especially on certain less-than-perfect days. Once I get going though, first draft is awesome. :) 

Tina Moss said...

Love: exploring the characters, getting the story on paper.
Hate: seeing that looming blank page!

Ava Jae said...

The discovery is easily my favorite part--can't get enough of it. The blank page can certainly be intimidating, though. 

Susan Sipal said...

First drafts, second drafts, fiftieth drafts...they're all hard.  But yes, for me, the first is the best of times and the worst of times.  I love the inspired new creation.  I hate the suckage that types up on my keyboard.  But, that's what revisions are for!

Love the John Green quotes!

Ava Jae said...

They all certainly have their difficulties. You're right though, revisions are most certainly the time to mold that first draft into something great. 

Glad you enjoyed the quotes! I thought they were great (which, of course, is why I included them. ^_^).

Jennifer Bennett said...

I'm actually enjoying my first draft (not every moment, I know how that it's not perfect) but it's nice to know I can write something that will someday be readable. That's worth it to me :)

MPax said...

I think of first drafts like clay, too. Yeah, mine are a mess, but that's OK. It helps the polished draft come about.

Lindsay Buroker said...

I don't remember who said, "I hate writing, but I love having written" but I definitely have days where it's like that! Right now, I'm trying to stick with the NaNo project even though my mind has starting thinking of the *next* project. ;)

Alyssa said...

First drafts are always stressful for me because I'm too much of a perfectionist; I backpedal, re-read what I wrote, and edit as I go.  :/  I have to make more of an effort to *just write* when I write a long piece of work; otherwise, I'll get worn out too early~.

Peggy Eddleman said...

I totally agree that first drafts are HARD! And that it takes a lot of revisions to really make them shine. The John Green quotes were the best!

Becca Puglisi said...

I hate drafting. HATE. IT. All that work, and when you're done, it's still crap, lol. I love the analogy of the clay. That's dead-on.

Becca @ The Bookshelf Muse

Ava Jae said...

That's great motivation. I wish you the best with your drafting! 

Ava Jae said...

I liked the clay metaphor, as well. Drafts tend to be a mess, but it's completely normal (and even expected). As you said, it helps the polished drafts come out, because we can't revise what we haven't written. 

Ava Jae said...

I've definitely identified with that quote on more than one occasion. Keep to your NaNo project! As long as it's worth pursuing, that sparkly new idea will still be there when you're finished. 

Ava Jae said...

I completely understand what you mean about being a perfectionist. I wrote a post about this before, but I'd suggest if you're having trouble moving forward without glancing back that you just re-read/edit what you wrote the day before and move on from there. I've found that it helps me when I really want to fix things at least a little, and it also helps me get back into the zone before I start writing again. 

Good luck!

Ava Jae said...

It takes SO many revisions. But it's worth all the work so you can see your WIP shine. :)

Ava Jae said...

The clay analogy was a great one. It's definitely frustrating to put all that work into a draft only to have it come out...less than stellar, but that's all part of the process. 

Alyssa said...

I'll have to read that post then; it sounds like it would be rather helpful for me, personally!  :D


Thank you very much!  :3

Ava Jae said...

No problem! The post is First Draft Blasphemy in case you have trouble finding it. :)

Angela said...

I think I'm weird, because I love first drafts. It's the revision that kills me. LOL.

Ava Jae said...

I usually like writing firsts drafts. Some days it can get frustrating, but by and large I enjoy the writing. So you're not weird...unless we're both weird. :)

Sophia Chang said...

Great NaNo posts!  I surfed over from SurlyMuse's links (he's awesome too) - so nice to meet you!

Ava Jae said...

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm so glad you've enjoyed my posts and it's wonderful to meet you. ^_^

Sophie May said...

What I hate about my first draft that I'm writing at this moment is that it is choppy, sometimes it feels unrealistic and stupid. It makes me want to crawl into a ball, and never pick up where I've left off...But what I love about writing first drafts is like reading a story; you never really know what will happen, your ideas are flowing and your heart races as you write. You are playing God and the characters are at your mercy.

Ava Jae said...

There are definitely highs and lows to writing the first draft. The best thing you can do is power through and worry about the choppiness and bits you don't like later. Remember--you can always make it better during revisions! :)

susan soares said...

Ok, a couple crazy things about this post. 1- it's exactly what I needed today! 2- the John Green video is so awesome I'd forgotten he'd done that. 3- you write YA and NA which is what I write. 4- you have a book with Sky Pony press who just requested a full read of my latest book from my agent 5- just an fyi I just made a youtube video of my week 3 nano update and linked everyone to this blog post :) (YT username: shewritesbooks

Ava Jae said...

1) Yay! So glad to hear it!
2) I agree! I actually hadn't looked at this post (or the quotes) in a while, but I do remember that video is particularly perfect for NaNo (and beyond, really). :)
3) *high-fives*
4) Oh awesome! Good luck with your submission!
5) Wow! Thank you so much! I really appreciate the shout-out!

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