ATWELL ANDREWS: WHAT I LEARNED WHILE WRITING MY FIRST DRAFT
Part of our Interview with an Author series with Atwell Andrews.
Books are LOOOONG, taking weeks, months, sometimes even years to write. It’s no wonder most aspiring authors run out of steam before they get there! I just completed the first draft of my first novel. Yay!!! What a milestone!!! So many times I felt overwhelmed, confused, and just daunted by the sheer enormity of it all. But just a few tricks helped me turn the corner and outrun the bullies in my head. Here are some things I learned that you might find helpful:
WRITE FORWARD AND DON’T LOOK BACK. A first draft has one goal: get the story out! Let me say it again: Get the story out! GET THE STORY OUT! Don’t worry about anything else. DO NOT TINKER with what you’ve already written. There will be a second draft and a third draft to work on flow and consistency and language and typos. Have a good outline to start, but don’t be afraid to allow the story to lead you to places you did not expect. Just keep swimming!
WRITE A LITTLE EVERYDAY. Consistently devoting 30 minutes everyday is more valuable than writing for 3 hours per week. Here’s why: When you focus on your story everyday, it stays in the back of your head and keeps developing, even when you don’t know you’re thinking about it. Little ideas pop into your mind that lead to big ideas when you’re writing. And when you write, the story’s already in focus; you don’t waste time getting into the zone. I committed to writing 30 minutes a day, but I usually spent about an hour. I learned to pick a time slot where I could add an extra hour or two if I wanted to. And I gave myself the weekend off.
FIND A SPACE OF PEACE AND FOCUS. Noisy, distracting environments are less productive. I have a pleasant, well lit workspace facing the front window of my living room. And if my wife is home, I go to my favorite coffee shop or my favorite space in a local library. (No offense, babe!)
BUILD JOY INTO YOUR ROUTINE. It’s SO important to enjoy the writing process, so make it a priority. Have a routine that winds you up into your zone. It may sound silly, but I always start with a cup of my favorite brew, at home or in the coffee shop, then I journal for a few minutes, then I start. These simple steps build my motivation and launch me into a great frame of mind.
FIND A PARTNER YOU CAN TRUST. Who in your life is excited about your work and willing to read what you write, give you encouraging feedback, and cheer you on? I’m not talking about an editor; that will come later. This is a very vulnerable stage of writing, so it’s important that the person you share with is not overly critical, able to help you stay on track without badgering you, and asking questions that help you develop your work without pulling your focus backwards.
Finally, WRITE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO READ. You will be spending a long time with your book. At this point, you are writing more for yourself than your reader. If you wouldn’t read your book, then who else will want to?
I hope this is helpful! Shoot us a comment and let us know what works well for you!
