Writing Drafts: Write the Shit Story First, Then Write the Good One

It goes without saying that when writing Drafts the last thing you should be worried about, is how good it looks.

I am without a doubt, the biggest offender of this.

Because I come from a fanfic writing background, drafts arent really done, at least no one I know that writes fanfictions for the internet bothers to write a draft and then rewrites a new version; if you do, that's fine, but in my experience thats not how fanfics are done since you have beta readers you can turn to, to spruce it up.

Obviously writing a book is different from a fanfiction.

A lot more care is involved.

HOWEVER, writing a draft is different and its taken a long time to get my head around that concept; but once you do it can make the world of difference in the long run, if you have trouble getting stuff written that is, and god knows I do. Although mine is more a focus issue than anything else.

Why writing a draft is important:

When you have a story you want to write, whether you realize it or not, 9 times out of 10 you've married yourself to an idea and if you're like me, taking alternative paths can be like trying to get blood out of a stone. You might run up against a roadblock while you're writing when your brain is telling you one thing but your muse/heart/stubborness is telling you another.

This is why I've adopted the motto

Write the Shit Story First, Then Write the Good One

This is why drafts are important. When you write a draft, do everything that you want to do in it, no matter how stupid it may seem in terms to the story, just write it, because this way you're getting out all that crazy you might have built up from developing your story. Once you can convince yourself that its just a draft, you will not only have more fun writing, but you will also get more work done in the long run, both of which are the ultimate productive goal.

But theres another reason why Drafts are important, as well as the importance of writing the "Shit Version" first.

When you complete your Draft with everything in it........ you have your blueprint to eventually writing a publishable novel.

Once your Draft is complete you can study your story - I recommend printing it out - and you will be able to see your mistakes; you will see what works and what doesnt and you'll probably even come up with new things you probably didnt even consider the first time around. And, eventually you will be able to smooth everything out, make everything flow right and ultimately weave together the novel you really want to publish.

These are just my opinions of course, they might not work for everyoen, but personally, I am the first to admit that I've had trouble writing my stories because I tend to procrastinate over all the little things and I ultimately don't get anything done. Partaking in NaNoWriMo this year has opened my eyes to certain ways that frankly I should have realized well before now. And upon realizing these things, I felt like I had been unshackled creatively.

So give it a try ^__^