Who knew that the blank page could be so terrifying? A white canvas for you, the writer, to unleash your inner novel. Or blog, or short story or whatever. For this particular blog, I will focus on the first draft of a novel, but the scary nature of the blank page applies to all. I myself stared at my computer screen for at least thirty minutes before any writing started, and I still shiver seeing the large blank space currently under this sentence.
I shall also be writing this blog in a similar style to my own first drafts, aka a lot of nonsense, words and little to no editing. This can only go well.
Now, where to begin?
There are many ways to start, and every writer is different. Some launch head-first into Chapter 1, inspiration striking like a lightning bolt, while other prefer to plan, their first draft looking more like an overview than anything solid. Sometimes you can start not even at Chapter 1, but on Chapter 3, 7, 29 or any, for this was the part you perhaps know best, or it allowed you to gain a better understanding of the plot / characters / setting. For my current WIP, I believe I started writing Chapter 4 first, as I had a perfect scene in my head that I had to get down on paper. Funnily enough, that entire chapter has been completely re-written now, and while I do feel sad that what I originally thought was the best thing I’ve ever written is now gone, I think the replacement is 1000 times better.
You have to start somewhere, so start with something you are most comfortable writing. Perhaps a scene that perfectly encapsulates your Main Character, you will, after all, be writing a lot about them. This is assuming that you have done some thinking and planning beforehand, which I highly recommend you do so before even writing a first draft. Fantasy in particular requires a lot of prep, such as world-building and establishing laws*. Having perhaps a list or character sheet for each of your important characters is a good place to start, along with the rough setting, this will help tackle the white wall of terror. Also having chapter outlines will help the process, even if they are short, half paragraph descriptions like “Ted meets with Vicky at the Theatre. They watch a terrible performance and get drunk.” Any little boosts you can give yourself will bring you one step closer to your end goal.
Once you have a decent understanding of your own novel, that is where I would start my first draft. The biggest thing I would say about a first draft is that it is your FIRST draft. There will be many, many, MANY more iterations, versions and edits along the way, so don’t feel pressured that you must write a best-selling novel on your very first attempt. My WIP is currently named “_Complete_Version5_3”, so it is not only the fifth version of the complete work, but version 3 of version 5, and still is being edited. The important thing about a first draft is getting the words down onto paper / typed up. It doesn’t matter how precise you are, how descriptive it is, all it needs to do is for you to get all those ideas out of your head before you forget them.
Set yourself a goal. I personally find that Word Count goals are better than timers, since I can easily spend 30 minutes having written but a single sentence. If you have a specific Word goal, then it forces you to get through the First Draft, which is all about just getting those words down. Start with something easy, like 500 a day and increase it as you gain confidence. You’ll find yourself having the draft done in no time at all. Getting into other habits also can benefit your writing, such as always doing it in the same place every day***, turning off other distractions like your phone / internet and (depending on if you find it distracting or not) listen to some relaxing, lyric-less music.
I often find myself writing dialogue than description, without using any verbs and even little use of “he said, she said, X said”****. Looking back at my original “Chapter 1” from two years ago, at least two pages are solid dialogue. The description of what is happening is through their words and not their actions, plus it gave me a solid understanding of the two characters in this scene. I love writing dialogue as well, so perhaps that influenced how my first draft went.
It is a monumental first hurdle, but once you pass it the finish line will be in sight sooner than you think! Just get those words down, don’t worry if it’s rubbish or not (and it will almost certainly will be), set yourself a goal and just start with what you are most comfortable with. Easy right?
* (which you can find out more by reading another blog post of mine: https://kieranmbarton.wixsite.com/macbarblogs/post/a-series-in-setting-high-fantasy)
**(as long as you stick to your goals, of course. I recommend the App “Habitica” as it turns habits into a video game. You gain experience and fight monsters by achieving goals, to-do list items and daily habits. It has helped me write more each day and I hope it can help you too!)
***(avoid your bed if you can, it is far too easy just to lie down for 5 minutes and suddenly its 4 hours later and the battery has died on your laptop)
****(using it only if there are multiple characters talking at once and I need to keep track, or just at the start so I know X is speaking first and Y is speaking second.)