Why My First Draft is Always Messy
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”
Attributed to Terry Pratchett, this quote tells you a lot about the journey towards a final work.
When we sit down to write, we unconsciously carry the weight of every book we’ve ever read, good, bad and indifferent. We want our book to be the best of us, the best we can do. So, naturally, we tend to project this into our first draft. Hoping it will emerge fully formed, as polished as the final.
An unrealistic expectation, yes. But the underlying passion to do the best is what I try to focus on. Perfectionist first drafts are impossible, as well as being counterproductive. When you stop every few sentences to polish and refine, you lose the momentum that carries you through difficult scenes.
Although you can get trapped in endless micro-editing loops, there’s nothing wrong with getting the voice right, the concept of place in the correct way as this influences the way a work might emerge.
Perfectionism of course instills a fear of making mistakes but those mistakes might often lead to places where you may not have gone otherwise. So embrace the first draft (including all those notes scattered everywhere) as a messy accumulation of thoughts and press forward. Because there are hidden mystical offerings afoot.
The Hidden Power of Mess
A messy first draft is actually a sign of creative courage. It means I’m prioritizing discovery over control, momentum over perfection. It’s not that I allow myself to write badly, more that I want the magic to start happening. Because from magic come inspiration.
What about the awkward transitions I’m worried about (always)? And my character who insist on doing unexpected things?
It’s all part of the journey. They might connect to my main story in ways not yet obvious.
So I treat messy first drafts as my laboratory for experimentation. Testing ideas without committing to them permanently, where you I follow tangents that might lead to breakthrough moments.
As I’ve mentioned before, that’s also why the short story format is so great. I’ll sometimes test an idea in a short story and, if it works, begin to plan for it as a longer piece. Which may, or may not, eventuate. That because it’s all part of the journey.
Speed and Quality
Some say writing quickly serves a purpose beyond efficiency: it accesses a different kind of creativity, a different part of the brain. They say the subconscious mind, which has been absorbing narrative patterns your entire life, gets to contribute to the process. While mindless creation will never serve me well, speed has a place. I just don’t want to waste a whole lot of white space on things that are already going down the toilet, emerging from the productive panic of not knowing what comes next but writing anyway.
Embracing the Mess
Sometimes I start a writing session with a brain dump or, better still, I lie in bed and think of developing a plot, mobile phone nearby so I can quickly capture the thought and send it to myself vial an email (I have so many of them). If I can’t think of the perfect description for a sunset I might write ‘[beautiful sunset description goes here]’ and keep moving. Some struggle with character’s name, but I just call them ‘Fred’ or something innocuous. Or use friends or relatives names instead (sometime keeping them). That allows me to maintain momentum.
Some set a timer and write in focused sprints, or set a particular time of the day to write. That mostly doesn’t work for me. Some days, after long stints editing or refining, I just need a break. That’s okay. Whatever works.
Edit, edit, edit
This is where the rubber hits the road because this is where the real magic happens. But you can only revise what exists. A messy completed draft gives you something concrete to improve, while an unwritten perfect story remains forever theoretical.
Whether you do all the editing yourself (as I do) or outsource, this part of the process is long and often boring. But it’s the most important part.
So, my messy first draft is my first attempt at telling myself the story, to give me a sense of it. I can then focus on the how, where and why of the plot as it is refined. And, by the way, messy first drafts include all the notes, labels, scribblings that I have accumulated over a story. Each of these serve its purpose to lead me to the place where I now know my story is here and worth telling.
Then the works begins!
Warmly Des Brady Messy Writer
