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How to Write a Zero Draft of Your Novel in One Afternoon
Just tell yourself the story.
A zero draft is the quick, sometimes ugly, version of a novel that comes before the first draft. Sometimes it’s called a dirty draft or a vomit draft. It’s essentially the writer getting the story out of their head and onto the page, so that they have something to work with.
I love a zero draft. Writing a first draft causes me significant anxiety. I’m constantly worried when I’m writing one that I don’t really have a story there. That I’m not going to be able to hold on what I do have long enough to write it all.
That I will never finish writing that first draft. Like writing that draft will be my version of the boulder that keeps rolling back down hill.
When I write a zero draft, it relieves that anxiety. I’ve already got the story out of me. I can see at least some path all the way through it. I’ve done some work developing the characters and setting and story.
Most writers understand that this draft isn’t meant to be well written. Annie Lamott encourages us to write a shitty first draft. But a first draft is as long as a novel and the idea of writing one that’s shitty might be upsetting. But a zero draft?