Speaking as someone who once wrote a 50,000 first draft in three days, I’m a big fan of the “just get it on paper and fix it later” strategy of writing. So is Lynn Price, as she writes here. When my students have to write a short story for school, I’m constantly telling them, “Stop thinking and write.”
Lynn says: “When I’m doing a first draft, I don’t worry about pacing and flow because I know I’ll hit that up once I have a solid foundation in which to build upon. For now, I simply need to barf it out there.”
It is by far the best strategy. If you stop and keep going back before you’re finished, you’re more likely to forget where you’re going. Anyway, it ruins the experience of writing the first draft if you keep going back; it’s not a REAL first draft if you’ve been modifying and fixing it as you go. I’m with you guys on this one :3
Bonnee: Plus you’re just so unlikely to finish. You need that mad sprint, because writing is all about madness. Why else would we do this?
This is so true. I have so many ‘stories’ that have been started then abandoned. That’s a lot of editing gone to waste if you don’t even finish the first draft.
Bonnee: It’s so hard to finish any writing, let alone when the initial high is gone.
You know that I’m not very good at the ‘get it out on paper’ manoevre. I’ve been practising though.
W: Once you’ve written a thesis, you win. Anything else is a bonus.