Putting iron on the first draft

You spend years pouring out your heart and soul and the first piece of advice a lot of new writers hear is “don’t worry about it, your first draft always sucks.” I totally disagree. The mere fact that you have completed the first draft should let you know that you are a winner. I heard that 80% of the people who live in the United States want to write a book. That means 260 million people who want the same thing as you. But how many people follow? Not many. How many people start their book but never finish it? too many. So if you have a draft, take a moment and celebrate…you’ve done something millions of people have never done.

A first draft is exactly what it sounds like, the FIRST step, not the last. If you’re 200 pounds overweight, you don’t expect to walk into a gym and walk out healthy the next day. Congratulations, you’ve entered the front door. Now what? Here are five basic steps to help you adjust that novel and get it into shape.

Step 1 – Cut the fat. The main goal of a draft is to get all of your ideas out, so you can make the best story possible. If I write 70,000 words on the first draft I expect to lose 10,000 words in the editing process. Your results may vary, but the point to remember is to never use six words when three words are enough.

Step 2 – Watch your grammar. Very few people can write like Mark Twain or William Shakespeare. Maybe after you have two or three hundred stories under your belt you can ignore the rules… but I doubt it. Yes, this means more work, but it’s not something you can skip because it’s no longer fun. Check spelling, punctuation, sentences, word timing, and then do it again.

Step 3 – Show Don’t Tell. Why does everyone keep saying show don’t tell? Maybe because we keep telling the story. You are not a reporter, you are not a storyteller… you are a creator of worlds. As Anton Chekhov once said:

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the flash of light on broken glass.”

But remember, don’t add fancy phrases and pretend you’re showing the reader something new.

Step 4 – Strong dialogue. Not all dialogs need to have a dialog tag. When you repeat “He said” or “She said” ten times on the page, the reader gets bored. On the other hand, if you use too many different tags, you start to forget step 3 (show, don’t tell). My solution is simple, whenever possible DO NOT use a tag. Sure, if you have multiple characters, you don’t always have that option, but the fewer tags used, the better. Give your character a personality so the reader never has to guess who said what.

Step 5 – Keep it simple. The first time I tried NaNoWriMo (write 50,000 words in 30 days) I failed miserably. He was overwhelmed, it was more than he could process. Many first-time writers do the same thing with their readers. They get into a piece of paper, and a few hours later they have ten pages of Grandma going to the store. This applies to backstories, supporting characters, and overly elaborate descriptions. When in doubt, cut it. If it doesn’t move the story forward, it tears it down. You must decide which words are the most important.

If you’ve never been to a gym before, don’t start by squatting 200 pounds and getting on a treadmill five miles a day. Like his writing, she starts at the beginning and works her way up. The above steps won’t make your work look like Mr. Universe overnight, but this is where you start to make a difference. Repetition is key. Keep writing, keep editing and practice. Do this, and one day… you will no longer be dreaming of writing that great American novel… you will be finishing it.