Write the ugly first draft: what I learned editing 12 working novelists

In ten years of editing fiction I have worked with twelve writers who actually finish books. They disagree about outlines, mornings versus nights, and whether adverbs are a crime. They agree about exactly one thing: the first draft is allowed to be terrible.

The amateurs I work with polish chapter one for months. The professionals write chapter one badly, then chapters two through thirty badly, and then — only then — make it good. Momentum first, quality second.

One novelist keeps a sticky note on her monitor that says: you cannot edit a blank page. Another sets a timer and types with the screen brightness at zero so he cannot reread himself.

Perfectionism dresses up as high standards, but on a first draft it is just fear with better clothes. Write the ugly draft. The book you keep imagining is hiding on the other side of it.

Part of the deeper dive: The Complete Guide to Actually Finishing What You Write.