Writing That First Draft

 I love writing. I love the feeling of being able to create anything my crazy mind can dream up. I love the way the words flow and ebb with the rhythm of my mood. I love to feel the seaside wind of distant lands on my face, to explore the deepest forests and highest mountain peaks from the comfort of my Minnesota home.
     But dude, writing is hard. I have this crazy love-hate relationship with it. I think a lot of us do. There's this passion for writing burning me from the inside out. The pen is just begging me to put it to paper, to create worlds out of words. But just finishing a book is also the most challenging thing I've ever tried to do. I am so good at dreaming about writing. Planning how my friends are going to react when they read my book for the first time. Thinking about all of the people I'm going to impact with my powerful words. But then I get hit with freezing cold, granite-hard reality. I haven't actually written in forever. Crap.
     Here's what my writing "routine" consists of. I'll sit down to write at my laptop. I've got my cup of coffee and my earbuds in playing anything from classic rock to movie soundtracks. Iv'e got my trusty thinking cap on. Open up my Word document. There are all the words I've already put on paper (er...computer screen). Now, all I've got to do is put some more down. I've done it before, I can so do this again, right? I'm just going to pump out a billion words in five minutes. It's not that hard. People do it all the time.
     But wait a minute. Is that the smell of chocolate cake wafting from the kitchen? It probably is. I'd better go check it out. No, Lauren, don't be stupid. You have to focus. Write words. 
     I begin where I left off and type a few words. But wait. Is that how I want the story to go? What if I'm leading it in the wrong direction and I'm going to regret this move for the rest of my life? What if I run into a plot hole I can't fix? What if I try to show it to people later and they laugh at me and I start crying and the entire world explodes? Oh no.
     But luckily, there are a few things we can do to help with this predicament. I'm sharing the best advice I've gathered (mostly thanks to the wonderfulness of Pinterest) over my long seventeen years. Now, I am a frightfully unorganized person, and my mind often contains roughly fifty-two thousand thoughts at a time. Bear with me, please.
     I have created a bullet list for your convenience. 

• Just write. Sit down and do it. I know it's hard. I know there are a thousand other things you could be getting done right now. But just do it. You know you'll be so flipping happy once you're done.
• Set reasonable goals. Expect highly of yourself, but not so high that you're going to give up. Set a daily goal. Sit down and say, "I'm going to write one thousand words today." And write one thousand words, darn it.
• Reward yourself. You've worked hard. Treat yourself. Perhaps after you reach 10,000 words, you can go out for ice cream. Or if you reach your daily goal, treat yourself to an episode of Sherlock.
• Write the first draft for yourself. Don't worry about what everyone's going to say about this little part, or if people are going to think that scene is stupid. Write to get the words on paper. Don't write for your audience just yet. There'll be plenty of time to worry about that in the editing phase. This will allow you to more easily get those crazy thoughts on paper, and actually give your book some substance. Think of it as creating a statue. The rough draft is just the hunk of marble. You need to get that first, and then you will be able to carve the crude stone into something beautiful.
• Choose one reader. I know, I just said not to write for anyone. I kind of lied. Write for one person. They could be someone you know, or someone you made up. Just tell your story to them and make them fall in love. But don't over think it. Write like they won't judge you for the little mistakes in your first draft.

     

     Thanks for reading! I hope you learned something (or lots of things) from this post. Comment below with other helpful tips you've learned. :)