I’ve heard a lot of writers say, “Give yourself permission to write a crappy first draft”. Some people “word-vomit” their first draft. I cannot emphasize enough, how wrong that advice is. The only context where it makes any sense at all, is if someone otherwise would not write the book, due to fear of messing up.
Of course, this is a matter of perspective. Perhaps you just mean do your best and realize you’re going to have plenty to fix later—that’s true. But if you’re telling yourself that the thing you noticed that is crap, is fine to leave in on your first draft… you’re 100% wrong.
I know… I'm the guy who always talks about how few absolutes there are. This is one area where I can't fall in the middle of the road.
Your first draft is going to be crap anyway, no matter what you do… so no, you do not have my permission to let it be crap. You know what’s going to happen if you write an entire draft with the idea that crap is okay? Plot holes, gigantic, numerous, ugly, plot holes. Things that are beyond full repair. There will be holes that even once filled, leave a scar on the manuscript. Don’t put yourself through that headache.
Take time, every second you need, to make sure that the first draft is intentional, and mostly how you want it. You want the editing process to be more of a “sweeping up” moment, rather than a “that wall needs to be knocked down” or a “that room isn’t big enough for a toilet” moment.
Trust me, the last thing you want is a manuscript that would be a mansion, but sorry buyer (agent/reader) it needed an outhouse… nothing I could do about that.
Writing a novel is a little like time travel. You make one error, one change… crush one butterfly… and the ripples will have far reaching consequences. You may alter something or create something that is terrible beyond repair. I warn you, because I’ve done it… I’ve experienced the horrors of a crappy first draft and the wonders of one that is done well. I’ve spent months and months trying to revise a manuscript that had no fix. It was a veritable Rubik’s cube of a blunder. It taught me not to accept crap.
Those manuscripts are the ones that require a rewrite, because no amount of editing will fix your lack of care.
I hope you enjoyed this blog and got something out of it.
Comentarios