Embracing the Chaos of a First Draft
Forget perfection. The first draft is about discovery, and sometimes the messiest moments lead to the most brilliant ideas.
I don’t know who decided that drafts need to be neat, tidy, and perfectly executed, but I’m here to tell you that whoever it was was wrong.
Actually forget that. I do know who decided it. It was you. It was me. It was all of us that grew up reading fantastic books and then when we put pen to paper, expected a masterpiece to flow from our pen.
Anything less was not acceptable.
But we were wrong.
The truth is, drafting is messy. It’s supposed to be.
In fact, that mess is where the magic happens.
Why it’s important we let go
When I first started writing seriously, I had an almost crippling need to get everything “right” in my first draft. I would agonise over every sentence, try to craft the perfect paragraph, and check and recheck every word choice. I wanted my drafts to be flawless from the very start, and, predictably, I would get stuck. I was too focused on perfection to actually finish anything.
But one of the most freeing realisations I’ve had as a writer is that drafting isn’t about perfection, it’s about exploration. The first draft is your playground. It’s where you let your ideas run wild, experiment with your characters, and see where the story takes you.
The beauty of a messy draft is that it allows you to discover things you didn’t know were there. It’s a bit like digging for treasure in the dirt; you may not know what you’re going to find, but the process of unearthing it is part of the joy.
Some of my favorite moments in my writing came from letting things get a little chaotic. There were moments when I wrote scenes that seemed completely disconnected from the rest of the story, until later when I saw how they fit together in ways I hadn’t expected. Or, when I let my characters take the lead and veer off into a direction I hadn’t planned, only to realise that it was exactly what the story needed.
Messy drafting encourages that kind of spontaneity and discovery. It allows you to stumble upon ideas that you might never have arrived at if you were obsessing over making everything perfect. If I had been too focused on getting everything right from the start, I never would have found the depth in my characters that I’ve come to love.
Why you should embrace the chaos
Freedom to Fail: When you don’t worry about getting it right the first time, you free yourself to make mistakes. These mistakes are not setbacks, they’re opportunities to grow, experiment, and learn what works for your story.
Exploring Uncharted Territory: With a messy draft, there’s no pressure to follow a strict outline. You can wander, explore new ideas, and let your characters lead the way. This kind of freedom opens up new avenues of creativity that wouldn’t be possible if you were trying to stick to a rigid plan.
Character Development: In messy drafts, you get to take your time getting to know your characters. You don’t have to figure out every detail about them immediately. Sometimes, a character will surprise you with a choice or action that didn’t make sense at first, but as you continue writing, it becomes clear why they acted that way. Those surprises are part of the magic.
Inspiration for the Final Draft: A messy draft isn’t the final draft, and that’s what makes it so powerful. The rawness of it will give you insights into what works and what doesn’t, and as you refine your ideas, you’ll be able to craft something far stronger than if you’d tried to create a polished draft.
My First Draft Tips
So how do we embrace the mess and move forward with our first drafts?
Write Without Censorship: In your first draft, let go of self-editing. Don’t worry about grammar or structure or whether it’s good enough. Just write. Get the words on the page. You can fix them later.
Follow Your Curiosity: If something in your story sparks your curiosity, follow it, even if it doesn’t seem to fit into your current plot. The beauty of a messy draft is that you can explore those curiosities, even if they seem tangential at first.
Let the Characters Lead: Don’t force your characters into roles or actions they wouldn’t naturally take. If they want to change direction halfway through the story, let them. Trust that your characters will guide you to a place you didn’t expect.
Accept That You’ll Have to Revise: A messy draft isn’t the end of the process—it’s just the beginning. Embrace the chaos, knowing that you’ll come back later with a clearer vision of what you want to say and how you want to say it.
So, the next time you sit down to write and feel the weight of perfectionism creeping in, remind yourself that messiness is a part of the process. Messy drafts are where creativity lives. They’re where stories are born, and where characters find their voice. Embrace the chaos, trust the process, and remember: your first draft doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to exist.
How do you approach your first drafts? Do you struggle with perfectionism, or have you embraced the mess? Let’s start a conversation in the comments ⤵️
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My first drafts are completely mood-driven! Some chapters feel carefully crafted while others are pure chaos. But nothing beats the excitement of following the breadcrumbs and watching the story come together!
As a non-fiction writer, I have a hard time with letting go of perfectionism when it comes to first drafts. But even with structured ideas and plans for a specific section or chapter, embracing the writing and where it leads me is always fruitful and innovative!