The Reality of Your First Drafts

Permission to be bad:

• Your first draft is just getting the story out of your head; it is not meant to be a finished book.
• Stop editing early: Trying to fix grammar and sentences while you write will stall your progress.  Separate writing from editing.
• Save everything: Do not throw away old notes or rough drafts because they help track your growth and ideas.

The Writing Process

• Start small: Aiming for a few lines or sentences is less scary than trying to write an entire chapter at once.
• Focus on characters: A flashy plot matters less than deep, believable characters with real internal conflicts.
• Find your own voice: Stop trying to sound like your favourite author or impress people; focus on expressing your own truth.
• Here's a valuable note from a client.

This is What a First Draft Often Looks Like!

I dreamt my first book!  It was one of those odd dreams one has when their least expecting it.  I put twenty three lines of scribble together over breakfast and built it up from that.  In the end I owned a three series book set.  The example to the right is an example that came to me on the bus on the way home from work, so I captured it as the moment took me.  Personally I keep a little note book in all the important places:

• On the the bedside cabinet.
• In the bathroom.
• In  the kitchen.
• In my handbag.

Don't let anything escape you, not one solitary word.