Why I Published My First Draft and 5 Tips to Finish Yours

Yes, this is my first draft, printed and bound. Why and how, you ask? Here are 5 steps that helped me finish my shitty first draft.

1. Write every day...

...or at least plan to. If you take one day off, it makes you more likely to skip the next day and the day after that. Even if you only write for five minutes to organize your plot or read through some of your character descriptions so you can brainstorm your next chapter throughout the day, this will keep you moving forward in finishing your first draft! Then, once you've made this a habit, you'll find yourself naturally able to set aside more and more time each day and your first draft will be finished in no time.

2. Write regardless of your mood

If you only wrote when you were showered, hair done, dogs walked, kids put down for their nap, snuggled in your "writer's coat", then your book will only ever represent your view of your best self. Who wants to read a book about a man or woman with their shit together all the time? My most defining chapter for one of my supporting characters was written when I was "feeling down", out of energy, 2 glasses of scotch deep, and frankly, I hadn't showered in days (quarantine people, cheer up). My job and my kids had left me with nothing left to give my book, but how perfect that it was that night I wrote about the one character who had nothing to give himself?

3. Complete Your Foolscap

The Foolscap is a one-page map for your novel. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure you pantsers out there are making that face, you know the face, but the Foolscap is foolproof. Even when you write by the seed of your pants, you can still have an idea of where you want your novel to go. Loosely, it helps you identify the beginning, middle, and end of your novel, all on one page. The Story Grid has a great article to get you started here.

4. Don't Sweat the Edits

I credit Ann Lamott for ultimately inspiring me to finish my first draft. She was the first one who I heard call it what it was, a "Shitty First Draft". She says that "All good writers write them.” In fact, she even claims that Stephen King writes shitty first drafts. Who better to reiterate this than acclaimed authors in their own (w)rite:

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

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” — William Faulkner

“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box, so that later, I can build castles.”  — Shannon Hale

“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonizing over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed…For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.” — Neil Gaiman

Get it all down. Let it pour out of you and onto the page. Write an incredibly shitty, self-indulgent, whiny, mewling first draft. Then take out as many of the excesses as you can.” —Anne Lamott

 Check out her chapter on Shitty First Drafts here.

5. Publish Your First Draft

You heard me. Publish, or rather, print and bind your first draft. You see that picture of the black book with the planet Earth on it up top? That is simply a first draft that I formatted and had printed. For me, an Enneagram Type 3, I've always struggled with finishing things. Because writing a book can take years, I needed some wins along the way.

Knowing that I could have a physical book in my hands a the end of this step catapulted me to write every day. So, when I was finished, I went to Lulu.com, downloaded their Cover Template, uploaded it to Canva, designed my own cover, exported my manuscript in Scrivener, uploaded both to Lulu, and ordered my book for like $7!

Now, in a month, when I read my first draft from start to finish before the first round of edits, I'll have a physical book to hold, one that I created. Now I am a Printed Author, not quite published yet, but I'll get there. 

Toberin Namirodday
Printed Science Fiction Author