How important is finishing a first draft?

[sozme]

Lately, when I have trouble writing/don't feel like writing or just doesn't feel well in general, I've been just plowing forward and writing the next scene in extemporaneous form, regardless of how bad it turns out.

The idea for me is to just keep forward momentum and try to finish a first draft. I think over the past few years one of my big problems has been worrying far too much about how the first draft is organized, getting worldbuilding details correct, or even getting plot details ironed out, when I think if I just finished the damn thing, it would make everything much easier on myself.

 

[Theophania Elliott]

Well, unless you finish the first draft, you can't ever get to the second draft, or anything after that....

'They' do say it's one of the major pitfalls of the newbie: continually polishing Chapter 1 until it gleams, but never finishing anything.

 

[Biskit]

It sounds like you're drifting from the realm of planner into pantser. As a card-carrying member of the Pantser Society, welcome. I seriously make it up as I go along and then try to get it to make sense later. I also bin stuff (or at least hide it in an obscure file) if it isn't working. Days of writing can get the chop because I don't like where it's taking the story. That said, I do tend to write a book 'in one go', start at the beginning and keep going until the end. However...

My current mess has been in progress for something like two years and has been written piecemeal as things take my fancy because I haven't been able to sit down and deal with it properly. It's only half written, just not the first half as it were. Now the time has come to start it on the road to making sense, which is a bit disheartening at times, but as it comes together I am getting into the flow of the story and having fun with it again.

Personally, I would just keep going. Even if it comes out badly, you learn something, and I have found that the way I write does change, so this may be the point where you discover you are one of life's natural pantsers... or you never, ever want to do something without detailed planning again.

Either way, best of luck.

PS
And what @Theophania Elliott said as well.

 

[goldhawk]

The idea for me is to just keep forward momentum and try to finish a first draft. I think over the past few years one of my big problems has been worrying far too much about how the first draft is organized, getting worldbuilding details correct, or even getting plot details ironed out, when I think if I just finished the damn thing, it would make everything much easier on myself.

And what about your characters? Are they interesting people? How do they feel about the story? Seems to me that you are missing an important part of your story: your characters have no feelings. Now that you have finished all the fun stuff, finishing the damn thing won't help. You can't finish it because you don't find it fun anymore.

Try rewriting it with your characters in mind. How do they feel? Are they excited? Scared? Worried? Lonely? And remember: show, don't tell. How do your characters show their emotions? How does this effect the other characters?

I think you'll find it easier to finish the story if you put more character into your characters.

 

[tinkerdan]

Writing for me is a series of steps; they are not in any particular order. I usually write like a demon when the bug takes me and then when that slows I go back through and flesh some things out in what's gone by until the bug takes me again and sometimes that leads to sections that get polished quite well before I'm finished while other times I finish it all and then polish. By far the easiest seems to be to finish it all and then start back through and that goes back to being a planner or not. I'm not a planner so a finished piece becomes the plan and when that much is finished I finally know where everything is going and I can polish around that. However for everyone and possibly for every project it's different so you should try to keep that in mind.

The bottom line is to keep going; keep doing something, because that's the only way to improve and as long as you are working on some phase of writing then you are improving your work.

Keep writing--that's the only rule here.

And with that in mind: off I go.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Grit your teeth and get to the end and then sort it. But if you get totally stuck go back to the last time it flowed and check if you went down a plot cul de sac?

 

[Steve Harrison]

I like to edit as I go and I can't (won't) skip ahead or plough through a draft. It means progress is painfully slow as I work out the details, but it does make for a relatively easy final edit process. I mentally handle this by knowing I will finish eventually and that every word brings me closer to the end.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Lately, when I have trouble writing/don't feel like writing or just doesn't feel well in general, I've been just plowing forward and writing the next scene in extemporaneous form, regardless of how bad it turns out.

The idea for me is to just keep forward momentum and try to finish a first draft. I think over the past few years one of my big problems has been worrying far too much about how the first draft is organized, getting worldbuilding details correct, or even getting plot details ironed out, when I think if I just finished the damn thing, it would make everything much easier on myself.

Totally agree - this is the way to do it.

Once the first draft is done it's easy to go back and tidy up, and develop everything you need within that framework - heck, change and extend that framework as required.

Trying to write a finished draft on a first run is an invitation to grind to a halt.

I can only speak from experience. Learning the hard way.

 

[opuscosmos]

Without a first draft there is nothing to polish.

There was something I watched the other day called the 25 minute method. You may have already heard of it. Turn off everything apart from your writing tools and free write your work for 25 minutes and clock watch, fingers crossed those 25 minutes will increase and attempt to do this daily. I beat myself up if I do not write everyday (mentally that is, otherwise I would be covered in bruises). Hopefully this will at least get to you to end of your first draft.

 

[apocalypsegal]

There was something I watched the other day called the 25 minute method.

Lots of writers use this, or something like it, to focus on the writing better. Writing sprints, Pomodoro method, there are plenty of different ones. You write for a certain period, then take a break. Get up, walk around, vacuum, whatever. Then when the break is up, it's back to writing. You can end up with a lot of good words if you can train yourself to focus. It's not easy, but otherwise, you end up with nothing to sell, and what's the fun in that? You might as well find a group and play bridge. You'd likely be less stressed, at any rate.

I will say that sometimes when you find yourself stuck, or unwilling to write, it's your subconscious telling you something is wrong with the story. If you can figure out what's keeping you from doing the writing, and fix it, you might find yourself back on the horse.

I don't plot, and I edit as I go, and I can do about 2K to 3K a day. My problem is being consistent, and not allowing myself to get distracted by everything else that "needs" to be done right frickin' now.

 

[TheAlchemist]

Lately, when I have trouble writing/don't feel like writing or just doesn't feel well in general, I've been just plowing forward and writing the next scene in extemporaneous form, regardless of how bad it turns out.

The idea for me is to just keep forward momentum and try to finish a first draft. I think over the past few years one of my big problems has been worrying far too much about how the first draft is organized, getting worldbuilding details correct, or even getting plot details ironed out, when I think if I just finished the damn thing, it would make everything much easier on myself.

I've had the same problem for a long time. The way I handle it now is by just writing it... don't worry about how it turns out. First drafts are not meant to be perfect or polished. Just write, keep the flow, don't worry about plot holes or things you haven't thought out completely. First drafts are a sketch, probably not comparable to the final draft.

As others have also said, try to set a goal for yourself. You can try that 25 minute method, or try to write 500 words a day. And if you don't feel like it, try to write one sentence. What I did was write some other things, and after a few months I picked up my old draft and looked at it with a new perspective. Sometimes you just need something fresh. If you keep building on something that's not really how you want it to be, maybe the best thing to do is write some other things, and when you're feeling like it, try to write on your work.

Good luck!

 

[Gonk the Insane]

Pomodoro method

Huh, I'd never heard of that and had to look it up. Which was complicated by the fact that I couldn't tell whether it was an "M" after "Po" or an "RN" - maybe it's just me but in some fonts where the letters are close together I can't always tell. I guessed it was an M so looked up that - not sure what the other would be but the mind boggles...
Something like that approach - writing in small units of time - could be a good way of building up stamina after coming back to writing from a break, or otherwise struggling. Sort of like practicing for a marathon by building up distance runs.

keep forward momentum and try to finish a first draft.

Yeah, as others have said, getting that first draft done is the way to go.

 

[apocalypsegal]

I get that about some fonts myself, Gonk. I usually have to scroll in and enlarge things until I can tell what's what. But yeah, there are a lot of writers who swear by Pomodoro, or similar methods. I just write until I've caught up with the muse, and I'm done for the day (hopefully with about 2K or more, but sometimes he's a stingy bird).

 

[sozme]

I've been using the Pomodoro method for a while now. Not just for writing, but also for studying in med school. I do recommend it, but you have to force yourself to take the alloted breaks, even if you are on a roll. Otherwise it defeats the purpose.

Thanks for the replies.

How do you all manage POVs in your drafts? Do you try to write one POV at a time all the way to the end? Or do you switch around?

 

[Gonk the Insane]

I've read about authors who write one character POV at a time, then go back to the beginning and write the next one, but I suspect that approach may be less common than writing the novel sequentially. Part of this could also relate to whether you're a plotter or a pantser - as a pantser I wouldn't want to write half a novel, for example, then go back and write the other half with the plot already in place; I'd feel constrained. I much prefer the organic approach of writing the whole thing in sequence and feeling out the plot as I go.
There is no right or wrong with things like this though, you just have to find what works for you.

 

[crystal haven]

As Gonk has said, there is no right or wrong, just what works best for you. When I first wrote The Beguiler it was in just one POV. Later on I went back and added in another POV. I suggest you just get the story down. You may find that a different POV just happens naturally.

 

[Steve Harrison]

I use multiple POVs in my novels, switching back and forth through the story. As the others have said - and as is the case with most elements of writing - there's no right or wrong method. As long it's clear to the reader, anything goes!

 

[night_wrtr]

I will say that sometimes when you find yourself stuck, or unwilling to write, it's your subconscious telling you something is wrong with the story. If you can figure out what's keeping you from doing the writing, and fix it, you might find yourself back on the horse.

This is the truth as I have been in this rut for a while. I have been trying to find the right balance between outlining and pantsing. Instead of making things up as I go, I've been writing down a few sentences and bullet points for each chapter before I go back to write them. This has been helping tons if you can force yourself to do it.

For me, it seems like I need to have some kind of idea where I want to go before I get started, otherwise I end up way off track. So far off track that editing turns into completely deleting massive chunks.

If you can go back and turn the edit monster loose to get the story in shape, go for it. If you're writing, you're making progress either way.

How do you all manage POVs in your drafts? Do you try to write one POV at a time all the way to the end? Or do you switch around?

I can see the benefits to both methods, but I agree with what @Gonk the Insane said. For the sake of creativity and allowing the story to flow on its own without restraint, I would rather write the POV that comes next in order.

 

[Vaz]

Yeah no right or wrong. If writing one POV to the end feela good and the writing is flowing then huzzah! If not, switch it up and write from other POV's.

 

[Susan Boulton]

Just get the story down. Worry about everything else when you start editing.