You have an idea, and until you put pen to paper, that idea will remain just that. But let’s face it, you won’t turn out a masterpiece on your first try. It’s called a shitty first draft for a reason. Unless you’re a literary genius like William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens, my guess is that you will be the only person who will ever see it in its entirety. 

My draft zero is done. Truthfully, I’ve been sitting on it for a while. Years. I wrote the first draft one job ago, during a time when I struggled to know who I was and what I wanted to do.

Inspiration for the story came out of a random event in my life when I considered becoming a realtor: while walking through a house I was looking to buy, something touched the head of my sister. Twice. In the same spot. An idea sparked a whole story of a realtor who, after some weird events, realizes she can talk to ghosts. A supernatural, domestic thriller with a sprinkle of murder mystery emerged. It was the first time in a while I was excited about something. The corporate life dragged me down, and the thought of writing this story gave me a spring to my step. 

I don’t remember exactly how long it took, but the words flowed out of me rather quickly. I wrote down what I thought was a fun story. A spooky story. A story that wasn’t exactly a love story, but was something that I would love to read. I never said it was good, but the plot was down on paper and the easy part was done. 

I strategically put the story away, with the plan to wait a bit before I went back to do a rewrite. During all of this, coronavirus popped up and the world turned dark. So a little while morphed into a long while before I opened that drawer back up and read through my writing.

When I read it back the first time, here were some of my thoughts:

• What was the story I was trying to tell?
• What was my main character’s motivation? 
• ow often did I tell and not show?
• – Could I even write? 

The long-winded sentences and simplistic formations made me question if I was cut out for this. I spent years studying the craft on my own, without ever actually taking a formal class, and my writing made that fact obvious. Since that first read through, I’ve taken classes, read books, made outlines, answered character profile questions, and dedicated precious time to figure out what this story could be. I started my second draft edit multiple times, and nearly every time, I lost motivation after a couple weeks, setting it aside for a bit until a few weeks later when I would pick it up again and forgot everything that happened.

Yes, my first draft was shit. And I’m sure once I take the time to ready my second draft as a whole, I will come to the conclusion that my second draft is shit too, but that’s all a part of my writer’s journey. I’m learning who I am, what I’m capable of doing. I have stories inside of me, and despite my lack of formal training, I’m not ready to give up this dream just yet. 

No time is perfect, so if you haven’t yet started that first draft, here are a few tips I learned during my process: 

• Have a story in mind. What’s the objective? Where do you want to go? Who are you characters and what’s their motivation? Without thought into what drives your characters and how they would move your plot forward, you story may end up floundering. 
• If you’re a planner like me, allow room for changes in your draft. As you’re “in it,” the direction of your story may change, so be flexible and move along with it. Don’t be afraid to see where it goes. 
• Don’t edit. It’ll be messy anyway, so don’t try to fix it if you don’t know the story yet. Only then is when the fun part begins, after you get your thoughts on paper.
• Make time for yourself and your writing. Create a habit and stick to it. It’s the only way to complete. If you want it, make it a priority in your schedule.
• Don’t get discouraged. Small steps are still advances. 
• Just start. 

I’ve read so many stories of amazing debuts and long backlists from authors, but just remember, they all started with a first draft.