The Truth

I have no idea what I'm doing, and I don't have the credentials yet to convince you to listen to me. There are dozens of other resources related to the craft of writing that I would recommend you check out instead of what I can provide.

In fact, this is likely the advice you came here to find: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Anything I say will be a poor imitation of the advice found there.

All I can do is tell you some of what worked for me, and try to convince you that you're not alone. There was a time that I thought I would never finish a first draft, and now I have a third draft sitting next to me at my desk. Something must have changed, because someone that thought it was impossible could not have done it.

Through a long combination of learning, practice, and a little trickery on my part, I was able to convince myself that it was possible, even probable, dare I say inevitable. I'm extremely proud of my efforts, and on the chance that someone would read this that responds to things similarly to myself, this resource is for you.

The Fundamental Shift

I alluded to this above, but it all starts with belief. There's a quote that says, "You don't get what you want in life, you get what you are."

Do you believe, truly, that you are capable of completing a first draft?

The best thing you can do for yourself is to say no, and go grab a wheelbarrow so we can remake this foundation. I left some gloves on the back of the truck, and I hope you didn't make plans for dinner, because we're having cold hot dogs (gluten free buns).

I had no choice but to start there, because I had been attempting to write a novel for over four years across several potential stories, and still didn't have a completed draft to show for all the effort. I had to accept that I was working endlessly on something I wasn't convinced I could do.

Now you may say, "Of course it's possible, I just can't do it!" I'll leave you to understand my issue with that statement.

I knew that if I believed it was possible, then the rest would happen given time and effort. All I would do after that point is move up the date of my accomplishments, and increase the quality of my writing.

So I started with the absolute basics, ones that I could prove to myself.

> Can I write a coherent sentence?

> Can I write a coherent paragraph?

> Can I write a coherent page?

> Can I write a coherent chapter?

> Can I write down a summary of my story?

> Can I write down a summary of each chapter?

> Can I build enough details on top of my summaries so that my chapters reach a reasonable length?

> Can I read something I've written, hate it, accept it, and then leave it to be fixed in the next draft?

You may recognize a sticking point at the end, and surely that is the step that gets most people. I thought somehow that I could be a perfectionist and still be able to complete the first draft, that somehow my last point above was not wrapped up in the 'is it possible' debate.

But, when I asked myself, "Am I capable of writing a first draft?" and said "No, I'm not sure I can", I was always answering a different question.

Understand What The First Draft Is

What I realized is that all those years I was trying to skip ahead and work on the final draft, the published book, my magnum opus, and wondered why I had so much trouble. Each time I rewrote a sentence, or started over on the idea completely, it was because I was trying to skip the first draft entirely! When I evaluated my writing after only a single week of effort, I was listening to the imaginary comments of a mother and child in a bookstore, where the child asks for my novel, and the mother says, "No, son, I read that once, and it was so bad it ruined my life. Haven't you wondered why your father left?"

The first draft will be so much easier to complete when you know what it is, and constantly remind yourself.

> The first draft is meant to be the most imperfect representation of your story

> The first draft does not have to impress anyone, especially not you

> The first draft does not need to be compared against any other work, especially published novels

> The first draft is infinitely easier to improve when it exists

Now reconsider the previous beliefs, and see if you think it is possible. Only then will you be allowed to start experimenting with more complex questions, such as...

> Can I write a compelling sentence?

> Can I write a compelling paragraph?

> Can I write a compelling page?

> Can I write a compelling chapter?

Also, remember that believing is not just a one time thing. One day you will believe, and another day you will lament as that belief slips away. Be prepared to remake your foundation again and again.

Okay, I believe (for now), what's next?

Now, for the great secret. I have found a way of writing a book that does not require sitting down and writing. A way to create a first draft without going one word at a time. A different approach for you to take than the thousands that came before, the thousands that are writing even now, and the thousands that will write in the future. A new way.

If you got excited, sit down, and give me back the hot dog.

There is no new way. There are new methods, new approaches, new strategies, new mentalities, new ways of creating communities, new marketing considerations, new types of paper, new ways of working with others, new examples, and new tools. Also new books, all written in the only way there is.

You find a place to sit or stand or lie or fly or float or fall, and you write.

You write.

You are a writer.

Do it at a pace of one word per second, and you'll still complete your draft.

Do it at a pace of one word per minute, and you'll still complete your draft.

Do it at a pace of one word per month... and we may need to discuss longevity.

I can write, but I run out of ideas?

Any writer understands that one idea for a story is not enough.

You need ideas for the overall progression, ideas for each chapter, even ideas for the conversations and individual voices of the characters. Every sentence and quote represents an idea, and it can be overwhelming when you have a sense of what you want the story to be, but it feels like you are running dry when it comes to the details.

All I've learned is that if you are welcoming to the ideas that you do have, you make more time for them, you make their living quarters as comfortable as possible, you keep asking them questions and showing interest, the more likely it is they will tell their friends that they've found a writer worth checking out.

It is when you start turning ideas back out into the rain that you're going to have problems later on.

Do Whatever It Takes

I reached a point where I knew what a first draft was, I believed I could complete one, and I was comfortable spending time writing.

Why was the process still so difficult?

I had to experiment, and set rules for how I spent my time, and say no to things I wanted to do, and say yes to things I didn't want to do.

Here are some of the things I experimented with that made a big difference for me...

> I set an initial word goal of only 35,000 words, because I learned I was an underwriter, knowing that I could go over or expand later, and only then beg society to forgive me for breaking the rules. By the end of my second draft, I had over 60,000 words

> I tried to write at least a little every day, even if they were just notes on my phone, or quotes, or scenes

> I continually revisited my chapter summaries, and added enough details that it could lightly communicate the events of the entire story

> I defined a core scene for each chapter that I was excited to write

> I tried to end writing sessions when I could on a high note, and carried that excitement into the next session

> I spent time in places that inspired me, such as coffee shops and book stores

> I let a few friends read the first chapter, to at least convince myself that I had in fact written something and not imagined it

> I kept a supply of books with a writing quality I believed I could surpass

> I kept a supply of books with a writing quality I did not think I could match, but aspired to

> I tried to accept that writing a draft may be as far as I ever get in the process of being an 'author' and became happy with that

> I saved my birthday and falling star wishes for when I needed them most

Are you willing to try these? If you have trouble writing in the evenings, are you willing to try writing in the morning? If you can't figure out a transitional chapter, are you willing to just transition, and explain it in the next draft? Are you willing to only write a chapter when you can summarize it? Are you willing to fight yourself for time spent doing what you know you long to do?

Do you want to be a writer?

Find what resonates with you, and do whatever you have to in order to reach the end of that first draft. Absolutely nothing you do as a writer will benefit you more than turning those chapter summaries into recognizable chapters, no matter the quality.

Last Word, On Destiny

Alright, it is time to risk it all. The answer. The true foundation of my own ability to write a crude draft, and why I hope you can do the same.

Each of us is capable of creating things totally unique, and it is our destiny to do so.

I don't mean that you have no choice or a lack of free will, I just mean that if you write, and attempt to create something original, then you will add something new to the world that could not have existed otherwise.

Combine that with your desire to be a writer, and you've got a destiny brewing.

I believe with all my heart that I have stories to tell, and I enjoy breathing life into them. I enjoy looking at a blank page, and looking back on it after it is filled. I enjoy when I take a sip of my coffee and realize it went cold. I enjoy deleting a part of a chapter that I've finally accepted just doesn't work.

There are parts I don't enjoy too. I don't enjoy when it has been a week and I've made no progress. I don't enjoy feeling like all my ideas have been done before and better than I could hope. I don't enjoy reading what I've written and realizing I'm the worst humanity has to offer. I don't enjoy feeling like I should have tried something else, and now I'm behind.

But I do enjoy it, all of it, because I'm a writer. I write, and I enjoy it. It is one of my destinies.