Armed with nothing but a pen and some paper, they produce a perfectlystructured scene in beautiful prose without even breaking a sweat. During the first draft, the author attempts to develop the main characters and flesh out the plot ideas of their work, uncovering their overarching themes in the process. A common question we receive regards how to write a first novel. Plough on, keep looking forward, dont hesitate by far the most important piece of advice you can follow when writing the first draft of your novel, is to plough on through, and not hang around editing, polishing and tweaking. A first draft, also known as a rough draft, is the very first version of a piece of writinga rough sketch of what your finished work will be like. Here are 10 dos and donts for writing your first book. Id say its good to wait around two weeks before you start your first. With a completed draft under your belt, it can be tempting to dive straight into edits, revising all of those pesky plot holes and other weaknesses you created along the way. True, some rewrite each page or even line, until its perfect, then move on, while others hurl a whole first draft down on the page, spellingmistakes and all, and only then go back and start to hammer it into shape. I felt so accomplished, but i now realize how much goes into the editing process. First draft to finished draft starts every workshop with an analysis and offers multiple revision options in each area. It can be tempting to redraft the first few chapters several times before you have even written a first draft of the middle or end, but this isnt going to get you any closer to completion.
Im glad to tell you that writing your first draft successfully is, in many ways, just a matter of attitude and thought process. How to write the first draft of your novel almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. I wrote my first novel right after finishing a course in creative writing. The first draft is about getting a good grip on your plot, developing your characters and their interactions in broad strokes, and identifying any. Wiesner carefully explores each of these stages, showing you how to. If you think that your first draft is your final draft, you should go and find another career. The hardest part of writing a book is finishing the first draft. If you think the term fastdrafting is pretty selfexplanatory, youd be correct. Writing an initial draft of any novel is usually a slow, painful and agonising process. After reading it, i explained how writing a book involves five different drafts.
Five tips for writing a first draft novel writing help. It can also be one of the most frustrating experiences of your life. Prolific writers know how important it is to start writing quickly. If you outline and develop characters beforehand, that can also contribute to a cleaner first draft. During much of the process, i felt like a raw beginner. When you havent written a book before, you assume its easy enough to do, until you try it. Ive edited half a dozen manuscripts in my writing endeavors, each one requiring differentiated attention. When youre drafting, write whichever way works best for you. You may need to come back and include some of these elements during your rewrite or edit.
Theres no single approach to writing a first draft. I have to be honest with myself with each story, find. An invitation and initiation into the writing life affiliate link, no expense added. Writing a book is a mid to longterm project unless you are one of those rare authors who can. Hell, during much of the process i was a raw beginner. Ernest hemingway famously stopped writing in the middle of a sentence so hed know exactly where to resume the following day.
Hed written a rough draft and wasnt sure what to do after that. The first draft of my first published novel was 1,084 pages long. On the other hand if youre writing the first draft of an essay, decide on your priorities. The book was 6,500 words when i delivered it, but i have just finished a process of cutting and reediting that has taken it down to 1,000 words. I have found great comfort in the comments of many about a first draft can be as rough as it needs to be.
These tips for writing the first draft of a novel wont remove every possible frustration from the creative process, but they will give you a headstart on what you want to write about. Your first draft can be clean and well written while another writers first draft is complete shit. Perhaps you are the kind of person who likes to have a stepbystep list of things to follow. You are uniquely you, and the novel you write is one nobody else can. The point of the first draft is to further flesh out your story and provide it with more detail. Whether you are writing your first novel or your fifth, writing a novel requires focus, planning, motivation and discipline. Resist the urge to read through your novel as soon as youve finished writing it.
How to edit the first draft of a novel the writing. If, for example, you give yourself a year to finish, your necessary word count per day will be length of your novel 365. A first draft is written after the outline is finished and is usually done without much editing. Not too long ago, a friend asked me to read his book. When youre faced with a blank screen, and knowing that you have to write 100,000orso words, it can be scary. I finished my first draft of my first novel about a week ago. This article has been deeply insightful and enlightening, but it shows me that i still have a very long way to go. How to write the first draft of your novel curtis brown creative. I want to give you all the content in this video so i break down my process writing a first draft plus i have ten first draft writing hacks for you to.
Writing a first draft of a novel can be equally simple. You probably knew it anyway, but perhaps its time to figure out why. Some need more character development, some more plot structure, some need a better arc, or more heart. W hen i finished the manuscript of my second novel i had one thing on my mind to make sure i didnt make the same mistakes i did with my first novel. A checklist for your novel or manuscript rewriting process in this blog post, pro novelist and writing tutor, emma darwin full bio below gives you her advice on how to revise a first draft of your writing. Im no stranger to book writing, having written 28 cookbooks but island apart is my first novel and writing it posed all sorts of challenges. So youve finished the first draft of your new novel. Novel writing ii first draft syllabus gotham writers. Writing first drafts is a stage of the writing process many. For some people, writing a first draft is the easiest thing in the world.
Writing the first draft of your novel the novel factory. Gotham has two separate programs for novel first draftpart 1 and part 2. There is no reason to spend 500 hours writing a wandering first draft of your novel when you can write a solid one in 150. How to edit the first draft of a novel the writing cooperative. Why writing your first draft is not as scary as it seems. Writing by writers draft is an intensive program for 15 writers who are committed to completing a novel, memoir, short story, or essay collection over the course of two years.
Labouring under all that fear meant i did a whole lot of writing and rewriting of the early parts of the story. A first draft is a preliminary version of a piece of writing. It took james dyson more than 5,000 attempts to design a good prototype of a bagless vacuum. Whether starting a first draft, or working through a new revision, this program is appropriate for writers who want a rigorous and supportive community throughout their process. Writing first drafts is a stage of the writing process many authors find daunting. By far the most important piece of advice you can follow when writing the first draft of your novel, is to plough on through, and not hang around editing, polishing and tweaking. It takes time, gives you sleepless nights, makes you feel emotional, tired, and foolish, and by. But even if you havent started writing yet, its worth keeping the following things in mind to ensure youre on the right track. What to do after writing the first draft of your novel. First draft writing 7 tips for easier drafting now novel. If you do choose to write a novel in 30 days, keep in mind that youre writing a. The key to writing a novel is to make a little progress every day. The first draft will vary depending on the skill and experience of the writer.
I once wrote the first draft of a book chapter that smelt so bad, i had to open up the office window while reading it. Because you finally finished writing the first draft of your novel. But first you have to create that block of marble, and for authors, thats the first draft. Create a quick outline to help organize and expand your original idea.
The tyranny of the first draft the talkative writer. Currently writing my first novel i have played with stories for years, but this is the first organized attempt at finishing one as a book. Basic bullet points of the ideas you want to cover, or first draft outlines where you plan your book by writing a version of it draft zero, a pansted first draft, is one you can finish in roughly the same amount of time it takes you to plan and outline your book. In from first draft to finished novel, novelist karen s. If, after part 1, you wish to continue working on your first draft, then take part 2. From here you can work out how many words you need to write per day on average. But its also only the first step towards your finished book. At the beginning of last year, i made a decision to write six first draft novels, and to have one of these drafts ready for querying. Trying to make it perfect as i went along instead of surrendering to the process knowing that it was only the first draft and merely stage 1 of the entire novelwriting adventure. So what do you even do after you write that first draft. About midway through a first draft, i usually take a breather and fix all the broken parts of my design documents. Counting the 100 hours it takes to do the design documents, you come out way ahead in time.
Getting the first draft of your story on paper is the single hardest part of writing a novel and the hurdle at which most people fall. Develop a detailed story plan checklist to solidify your storys details. You choose the options that best fit your writing process. Making writing a big deal tends to make writing difficult. Writing a first draft is easier when we think a little ahead as we draft, to what we need each scene to do. Analyze your manuscript to find its strengths and weaknesses. Here are 6 techniques that helped me go from aspiring novelist to published novelist. I note down new scenes that need writing, continuity issues, problems with characters and much more.
The first step is always the hardest and when it comes to writing, that step can seem insurmountable. When youre writing a first draft, youre so caught up in navigating your way through the story that it can be hard to see the grand scheme of things. Having just completed the first draft of my second novel, i can attest to the fact that writing a first draft is still a lot better than oral surgery, but a good measure worse than folding laundry or even cleaning the bathrooms which, full disclosure, my husband does. Yes, it will be rough, and it will need editing, but to get to a finished book, you need a first draft to work on.
First draft should be thought of as a canopy off writing, holding however many drafts it takes to get you to the place where you feel you have grasped the story and put it on the page. And the grand scheme of things is where you need to be before you can properly consider your novels structure. Write a heading to remind yourself of what part of your draft youll work on today e. Once i have a first draft i print the whole thing out and do the first pass with handwritten notes. Fastdrafting is quite literally the process of writing the first draft of your novel or short story, novella, etc.
No matter how many times an author finishes the first draft of a novel, they know this is only the beginning of the writing process. If you write a thousand words a day, something most people are capable of doing in an hour or two, for 100 days, by the end youll have a 100,000 word novel, which is a pretty long novel. To begin planning your book, set a deadline for completing your first draft. Writing your first draft can seem a daunting prospect. I write all kinds of notes in the margins and scribble and cross things out. Advice on writing your first novel from a published novelist. For my first, i had followed all the rules of writing, read all the books, and worked hard until it was finished. For many writers, the first draft is just the bare bones and often no one will ever see that version of the manuscript. Writing the first draft of a novel can be a very rewarding experience. Your finished book can be equated to michelangelos david, a perfect statue that emerged from a rough block of marble. If you want to write a standard length novel 80 000 to 100 000.