The First Draft
The first draft of their masterpieces was never the last one.
Back during my college days, I attended a two-day workshop on creative writing. It has been twenty years since then and I have forgotten most of what I had learned. But one thing that has remained etched in my memory is the importance of the first draft for a writer when he starts on any writing project. Ideas with images and characters complete with scenes and situations are of no use until it is put down on paper. The first draft is the first step from where you start your journey.
“The first draft of anything is shit.” - Ernest Hemingway
By no means does Hemingway’s statement undermine the importance of the first draft. In the rest of his own words:
“Don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it. I rewrote ‘A Farewell to Arms’ at least fifty times. You’ve got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit.”
What Hemingway likely meant is that by the time a writer comes to the final published version of his book, the first draft would have undergone so many changes that it would no longer be relevant. Had it not been the case, any shit would have hit the stands.
To draw an analogy you can say that the first draft is like the first time you tried to make a poached egg. That it was really tasty is altogether a different issue to deliberate upon! After several failed attempts can one end up with a perfectly cooked oval white soft poached egg with the gooey yellow lava delicately contained in the center. What I learned following several cookery shows is that even the best of the chefs had had a disastrous start when it came to our simple poached egg. Takes just three minutes, two ingredients, as plain as breaking an egg into boiling water and yet cannot be done perfectly in the first attempt! But if one shies away from making because of the fear of the impending disaster then obviously you are depriving yourself of the joy of victory over taming the egg.
When it comes to writing your first draft the same logic holds true. To muster up enough courage to take the plunge is the most crucial stance necessary to begin your first draft. Floating ideas have to be harnessed and that can be done only when they are put down on paper. The first draft is the arena where you hold the reign to train your ideas to take shape.
At the conceptual stage or the pre-writing stage, ideas are generated in a random haphazard manner. You need to organize these ideas in order to give them a shape. The first draft comes to your aid. It acts as that canvas on which you draw the outline of your painting.
While writing the first draft there’s a free flow of thoughts, and those thoughts are changed into words on paper. One must remember, initially, these thoughts do not come in a sequence. Anne Lamott in her book, “Bird by Bird,” considered a bible for writers, has this to say:
“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper.” — Anne Lamott
Rewriting, restructuring, redrafting, editing all of them can be done only over the first draft.
“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” — William Faulkner
Almost all great writers barring a handful had had to go through the rigmarole of rewriting and editing several times before their work went to the stands. “Go Set a Watchman” is supposedly the first draft Harper Lee had worked upon to bring out “To Kill a Mockingbird,” considered one of the finest works of literature. “The Great Gatsby” had to be rewritten several times after its first draft. It is said that every time J.K.Rowling’s draft was sent back she made changes. A large number of successful writers will vouch for the fact that the first draft of their masterpieces was never the last one.
I don’t mean to scare you by saying the first draft is a terrible job. Perhaps Anne Lamott’s words may give you some succor.
“All good writers write [terrible first drafts.] This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts. . . I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts.” — Anne Lamott, “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”
One can argue saying if the first has to be changed several times then why put much effort into drafting?
The answer is simple. The first draft is like making a road map. There are just two steps to take.
Sitting down to pen the first few words of your first draft is the most daunting task a writer can ever face.
What do you want to say?
The answer to this gives you the purpose or the focus for your work. Is it about a narrow escape or a cancer survivor or a haunted house or a quaint town? Or is it a recount of an anguished father or a gripping tale of a political refugee on the run or the frustrations of unrequited love or maybe a saga of a lost empire? The answer to this sets the motion. It gives you the theme to work upon. It is like deciding a destination before preparing a road map. But it is not as simple and easy as it seems, because at this stage your mind is full of scattered ideas and dotted sentences which are in an extremely disjointed and fuzzy manner. You have to grope for words to change these ideas into coherent comprehensible sentences.
Next in line is the tone of your piece.
How to say?
This is actually, like deciding which route to take, whether the shortest through terrain or the longer one through the countryside, before drawing the road map to your destination. For example, if you are writing an essay you must decide whether it should be a persuasive one or an informative essay. If you’re writing a novel you need to figure out the genre, length and targeted readers. There are a number of other aspects that need to be fixed on. Sorting out these two steps will help you embark on your journey. One must keep in mind that these steps and tips and advice will be useful only when you are pushed by a strong urge to tell your story, to share it with everyone who is interested and to make it interesting for those who are not. To do so one must bear in mind that the first draft can be full of half sentences, spelling and grammar errors and repetitive, incoherent and contradicting sentences. Hence it is only meant for you and no one else. Remember it is not the first draft but the last and final draft of your work that will be read by people! Go for a free spin on the first draft and leave the outcome for your last draft.
All said and done, the only time tested way is to write and keep writing and let yourself swim with the flow till you reach THE END.
“The first draft reveals the art; revision reveals the artist.” — Michael Lee
