How to Finally Finish Your First Draft: Building a Consistent Writing Practice
By Lily O’Neill
“It’s intimidating when you’re first starting out but with a simple mindset shift and a strong passion, you can surely finish your first draft and stay consistent with your writing journey.”
Writing a book is hard. We have all been there: you have a brilliant story idea pop into your head, you set up your laptop, and then stare at the blank page. Where do I start? Am I even qualified? These questions and many others plagued my mind at the beginning of my writing journey. Even the most successful authors have had to overcome imposter syndrome and self-doubt. You can too. I believe you can write a book because you first have the desire to.
As an aspiring author myself, I have been writing consistently for over a year now and I am currently editing the third draft of my debut YA Fantasy Romance novel. During this time I have written three complete drafts and several unfinished projects. It’s intimidating when you’re first starting out but with a simple mindset shift and a strong passion, you can surely finish your first draft and stay consistent with your writing journey.
Know Your Why
Writing a book is a long process, it needs a driving force to get through slow days, writer’s block, and self-doubt. Why are you so passionate about writing a book? Do you believe your story needs to be told? Do you want to entertain, help, inspire, push for change? My “why” has been to create stories that make people feel strong emotions, find an escape, and inspire reflection. Since my niche genre is fantasy romance, I desire to put healthy love stories out into the world where people can fall in love through them in a magical escape.
My “why” is also the long-term goal of being a full-time author and living a lifestyle where I can wake up and write all day. Your why will be unique to you, but this is your driving motivation. Motivation is often fleeting, only relying on bursts of creativity will make it hard to make real progress.
Start Messy
I bet you feel like you have no idea what you are doing. I did too when I started. This is why I love the motto “Start messy”. It implies that you should start a new project or goal without worrying about the “how” and logistics. Along the way, I read craft books on writing, watched writing content, and learned through my own trial and error. I know a significant amount more now about writing a book than when I started, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t start messy.
Embrace making mistakes, not loving your work, or feeling lost. Having strong criticism for your work doesn’t mean you are a bad writer, it means you have a strong vision and standards for your story. With time and practice, your skill level will rise to meet your vision. But no matter how much you write, it will never be perfect but that’s what makes a real story.
Build A Writing Habit
Making progress on anything in life requires discipline. If you rely purely on motivation to finish your first draft, you will often be met with disappointment. The reality is that motivation is not linear. This is why I say if you lead with discipline, you create pockets of time where motivation can flourish.
When I first started I had a goal of writing for ten minutes every morning. I didn’t even have a word count goal, I just wanted to get words on the page. Later in my journey I built momentum and had a daily word count goal of 4,000 words. The key to building momentum and consistency is starting small with a reasonal goal. If you can only write one sentence every morning, then just do that. Over time you can work your way up to two sentences and then a paragraph and then a page and more.
Small habits compound into real progress that will grow over time. Thinking day by day is helpful with such a long-term project like drafting a book.
Accept It Will Be Bad
First drafts are never meant to be good. Even experienced writers will tell you that their first drafts are laughable. That’s kind of the fun of it. Writing is a journey of trial and error, writing and rewriting. It’s about discovering the story as you go, scratching entire plots, reshaping them, and throwing in new elements. That’s why the first draft is so fun; there are no rules.
It is advised to avoid editing during the first draft and focus on just finishing it. There will be plenty of time to edit and re-edit later on, so just enjoy the chaos and let your creativity run without boundaries. When you’re not as worried about it being perfect, you won’t bother to stop and dwell. Accepting that the first draft is bad will help you find the motivation to keep going and not give up due to self-doubt.
Just Keep Writing
The best way to get better at writing is to write. The best way to finish a first draft is to write. The best way to be consistent in your practice is to write. Make writing itself what you look forward to. Decentralizing the book itself helps you see writing as what it is, a fun creative outlet. As much as you can, just keep writing. No craft book or mentor can help you the way writing will. You will become more confident with your skills, find your voice, learn what you like and what you don’t like. It may surprise you how far you’ll go with the simple mindset of “just keep writing”.
I always say if I can do it, you can do it. I don’t have any special qualifications, just a passion for writing and a commitment to my goal of publishing my debut novel. It all starts with believing it is possible, and I hope that sharing my journey shows you how possible writing a book is. I wish you the best of luck on your writing journey and remember, just keep writing!
Lily is an aspiring author working on her debut YA Fantasy Romance Novel. During the spring of 2023, she found her way back to her childhood passion of writing books while studying abroad in South Korea. From blogging about travel and wellness to hosting podcasts, Lily has always been a storyteller. With a bachelor of arts in psychology and anthropology, she sees writing as a way to understand the complex and beautiful human experience. Now sharing her writing on social media, she hopes her journey will inspire others to pursue their passion.
Be sure to follow Lily on social media to stay updated on her writing journey!
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