The front and back cover of a newly published anthology I helped to organize, titled It Begins Here.
Find it on Amazon today!
Find it on Amazon today!
Utopia Editing and Ghostwriting's Thoughts on Whether You Should Hate Your First Draft...
As Head Book Editor for Utopia Editing & Ghostwriting Services, LLC in Phoenix, Arizona and also an author, I know what it's like to read a first draft. Whether my own, my clients, or my critique partners, I've been down in the trenches when it comes to repetitive words, flat dialogue, purple prose, and plot holes for days (I'm only speaking on behalf of my own first drafts with these examples).
Anne Lamott, national bestseller of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, actually has a chapter dedicated to first drafts. Want to know what it's called? "Shitty First Drafts!" (Find it on Amazon here.)
I was reading Lamott's Bird by Bird a few days ago, and as I'm in the throes of the first draft of the sequel to my award-winning fantasy novel, The Charismatics, I was hoping the chapter might speak to me. Or something. One of my favorite passages was this:
"For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts."
-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
"For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts."
-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
I found comfort in her words--so much comfort--but also, worry. Because I thought to myself...but I don't necessarily hate my first drafts. IN FACT, as a way to hold myself accountable for NaNoWriMo 2015, I'm actually posting my DAILY WORD COUNT on Wattpad. It's terrifying, it's exhilarating, and as I read Lamott's words, it made me wonder...am I making a huge mistake?
Read about how I wrote the first draft of my award-winning novel in two months here!
As authors it seems like a consistent thread amongst so many is a certain type of self-doubt, even a self-loathing about our work. Stephen King's been quoted as saying:
“Writing fiction, especially a long work of fiction can be a difficult, lonely job; it’s like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub. There’s plenty of opportunity for self-doubt.”
“Writing fiction, especially a long work of fiction can be a difficult, lonely job; it’s like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub. There’s plenty of opportunity for self-doubt.”
So Should Authors Hate Their First Drafts?
As an experienced editor and author, my opinion regarding this topic is mixed. I think that there's a fine line between "hating" your work and recognizing that as writers (or any artist, for that matter) we always have more to learn. A wider vocabulary, better descriptions, clearer ways of describing things, more believable dialogue, diversity in our characters (and ones who are more fully realized)...so many things to learn.
But the crux of the matter is this:
YOU WILL NOT LEARN HOW TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER IF YOU DO NOT WRITE.
And for so many, the terror of that "shitty first draft" (or second, or third) keeps them from writing, or leads them to read and reread that first chapter, to revise and be full of self-loathing and self-doubt and generally just forget the reason why they got into fiction book writing altogether--because it's supposed to be enjoyable.
But the crux of the matter is this:
YOU WILL NOT LEARN HOW TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER IF YOU DO NOT WRITE.
And for so many, the terror of that "shitty first draft" (or second, or third) keeps them from writing, or leads them to read and reread that first chapter, to revise and be full of self-loathing and self-doubt and generally just forget the reason why they got into fiction book writing altogether--because it's supposed to be enjoyable.
A certain level of confidence--nay, childish excitement--is vital for those beginning to explore the world in which their new book takes place. There is no room for hatred.
You are fragile, the storyline is fragile, and with the slightest breath of "hatred" upon your work, it could all come tumbling down. So no, I do not think that we should hate our first drafts. We should love them--because, after all, we should ultimately be writing our books for ourselves, anyway.
And when the time is right to have another pair of eyes on it, make sure that it is someone who will tell you the truth, whether that be a partner, fellow author, beta reader or professional editor (like me!). They should highlight the good and the areas that need work, so that you can feel confident in the end result. But never should you feel "hatred" for your book or give heed to any needlessly negative critique from someone else.
...And if all else fails, write a sex scene or blow something up! :)
And when the time is right to have another pair of eyes on it, make sure that it is someone who will tell you the truth, whether that be a partner, fellow author, beta reader or professional editor (like me!). They should highlight the good and the areas that need work, so that you can feel confident in the end result. But never should you feel "hatred" for your book or give heed to any needlessly negative critique from someone else.
...And if all else fails, write a sex scene or blow something up! :)
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