The Great Adventure

“The first draft of anything is shit.” –Ernest Hemingway

I’m nearing the completion of the first draft of my first chapter on my latest book. And the more I write on it, the more unhappy I am with it.

One of my father’s sayings was: “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” And there are words of wisdom there. You can’t find diamonds in garbage. At least, most of the time.

On the other hand, writing is a complicated process that involves (1) thinking; (2) putting thoughts on paper (or a screen these days); (3) editing those words to help them make sense.

It’s easy–and I have fallen into this trap often–to just stay on the first step, thinking about a story without writing it, for myriad reasons. You don’t have enough research, you feel inadequate to the task, you don’t think the audience will receive it well, you just aren’t interested at this time. But if you are going to be a writer, you can’t just stick on #1. There are plenty of Wanna Be Writers out there who talk about doing it and don’t do it. You have to move on to #2.

That’s where it gets sticky. We often see the words coming out on the page and we gag…oof! Is that how I write? What am I doing? I should be an accountant! Or a dog catcher! Anything but a writer. What we don’t realize is that putting words on paper is just a first step, one that allows us to make some fair into something good, and hopefully something good into something great.

You have to tough it out. When you see crap coming across your keyboard, keep going. Maybe it will get better. If it doesn’t, you’re likely to get ideas further along that will help you fix the crappiness and turn your sow’s ears into something a little more silky. But if you become discouraged by what you see and just stop, well, everybody loses.

That’s what editing is for. Beginning writers think that the job is done when the first draft is written. They are sorely mistaken. Editing and rewriting is a HUGE part of the writing process, and if you aren’t doing that, your manuscript is substandard. Editing is often boring, monotonous, and absolutely, absolutely necessary. So don’t skip that step.

Don’t fret about crappy first drafts. But don’t skip the editing either. You forgive the former by investing in the latter. And end with a win in the end.