The first draft is just you telling yourself the story. ― Terry Pratchett
Rescuing lost stories is both compelling and intimidating. There is nothing more frightful to a writer than a blank screen with a short deadline looming. I have for over five years posted a BLOG every week, except the three weeks I was out of commission dealing with version D of the virus.
Granted some weeks I recycle BLOGs, but even this requires a certain amount of time and effort. This is a weekly commitment I have made to myself and those who follow my BLOG. To keep this commitment, I play some mind games with myself using the power of the first draft.
The Power Of The First Draft
I have a system, of sorts, that helps. It consists of three basic steps:
- My Idea Bucket. I have a pool of ideas that I capture in the draft section of my BLOG. This ranges from a couple of words in a headline to several bullet points. Since I can access this via my iPhone, I can make an entry when an idea pops into my head. I have learned to pass these moments by, and have found it only takes a minute or two to grab the inspiration.
- The First Draft. This is where the empowerment comes in. When I write the first draft I do it for me. Yes, I think of my audience – later, but to get going I “pretend” no one but me will ever see this. That takes all the intimidation out. I can note where and what to research later, use poor grammar, and ignore spell check. It’s very freeing.
- The Final Draft. Ideally. this step is done at least a day after the first draft. Sometimes (like today) I must compress these three steps into one sitting, as I am up against a deadline. We have just returned from a trip and I have been scrambling to do all those after-trip things that need doing. Thus my normal early-in-the-week writing time has been pushed to, well, now.
The First Draft Trick
Writing the first draft for me is especially helpful in these down-to-the-wire situations.
It can also be used to give yourself a kick in the pants, e.g. stop procrastinating, push. Yes, it is a bit of a mind game, but whatever gets the result: your story out of your head and onto “paper”.
For a more robust template, I have outlined a process here. The Five Legacy Opt-In below provides categories with prompts to help further with the Blank Screen syndrome.
To jump in further I have compiled a workbook, Give Your Story A Voice, available on Amazon.
Summer is a great time to carve out that special time to write. Do it first for yourself. The rest of us will wait!