BEST WRITING ADVICE (PART TWO) : DON’T LOOK BACK!

If you’ve read a good deal in the genre in which you plan to start writing, as I recommended in “Part One” of my “Best Writing Advice” series, then you’re ready to consider this next tip.

Never try to write a great or even good novel (or other piece of writing) on the first go-round. Even Hemmingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” While that’s a bit extreme not to mention a little vulgar, I get his point. Don’t try to write every line perfectly or worry too much about the final draft while you’re creating the first one. Not only will it take much longer to finish, but it can also get in the way of your creativity. Another drawback, especially if you do not have a very detailed outline, is that you may forget what you were planning to say next. Worse, you may never finish the piece. Trust me, I have files full of the beginnings of many good books.

It’s the best writing advice I’ve ever taken. In fact, that’s how I finally completed my first novel. I had an outline which likely made this process easier, at least for me, but that's not a requirement for this technique. Here’s how I did it.

Once I stopped writing for the day, that was it. No more going back to the previous days’ work. That doesn’t mean I didn’t rewrite a single word until the entire first draft was completed. Far from it. Sometimes I’d spend twenty minutes to an hour or more on one scene or a section of dialogue. I gave myself permission to rework as much as I wanted, as long as I only worked on what I created that day. Just as importantly, I had to reach my minimum daily word count, or else I could easily have spent many days with little to no new material added. So, a definite goal of so many words, pages, chapters, etc. was essential here. Then, the next day began with new material – no exceptions. No matter how much my fingers ached to go back and redo something, I resisted. I kept going in that fashion until I finished the entire first draft. Best advice ever for getting stuff done!

Please let me know if you try it, plan to try it, or have tried it before and if it worked or not. Thanks for reading our blog!  See you next time for Part Three: The Almighty B-I-T-CH.