Everyone tells you that your first draft is going to be absolute dog water, that you shouldn’t expect to love your book until after several rounds of editing.

They’re somewhat right.

You’ll definitely appreciate your book more and get to where you want it to be after editing but that doesn’t mean that your first draft has to be trash. It’s great to get words on the page but there are ways to be more purposeful so that you write a better first draft.

Read to the end to get a Free Notion Book Outline Template.

Create a brief outline

Whether you’re a plotter or pantser, an outline will help you visualize your novel and write with more direction.

It will also be important when you finish your first draft and begin editing. If you hire an editor later on it is a good idea to send them your outline to reference as they work through your book.

It doesn’t have to lay out every little detail. It just needs to give you an overall idea of how your story should go and key points that need to be included.

When you’ve finished the first draft you’ll likely go back and add more detail to the outline then so you can make sure it flows properly and catch any plot holes.

Don’t leave key scenes blank

There are writers who will make a note to go back and write key scenes that they don’t have fully fleshed out.

This may seem like a good practice to keep you writing but it could lead to more issues with inaccurate details and plot holes.

If you aren’t sure of a scene, try taking some time to work it out. Obviously, don’t get stuck there for weeks but only leave it blank if you absolutely have to.

Show, don’t tell

When writing, you want to refrain from telling the reader everything about a character or situation. Show as much as you can through interactions.

Telling does have its place but relying on it too heavily can make your writing and the book feel flat.

This is one way that you can often tell a novice writer from someone more experienced.

An easy example would be telling the reader that “he loved her very much,” rather than showing actions that he took to showcase his love.

Your book will read a lot better and be more enjoyable once you master this. It will definitely improve the quality of your first draft as well.

Define your characters

A big reason characters come off as one-dimensional in the first draft is because we haven’t spent enough time giving them characteristics that make them stand apart from the page.

Spend time getting to know the characters you’re creating. They shouldn’t feel as though they are a list of traits on a piece of paper. Make them feel like they have a personality that shows in their actions, decisions, and dialogue.

Make your characters develop

Your main character(s) should grow throughout the book. Very rarely should a character be the exact same at the end of a book as they were when it began.

As they overcome situations, they should learn and evolve accordingly.

They don’t have to do a 180 personality or mentality-wise but there should be some noticeable change. It all depends on your book and the situations that your characters go through.

Rewrite as needed

This is probably a hot take.

Most people will tell you to keep pushing on and make a note to go back and change previous chapters later.

While that idea keeps you moving forward instead of getting stuck in a circle of rewriting, a lot of writers end up continuing to write based on scenes that don’t match their vision.

They say they’ll go back and change everything later but that is more of a hassle than taking more time to work on a better scene that might not have to be edited as much later.

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A first draft is just a starting point. It doesn’t have to be perfect and sometimes just ends up being an extremely detailed outline for your second draft.

Regardless of how you feel about the first draft, it is still a huge accomplishment!

Hopefully these tips will help you in your writing journey.

If you’re ready to publish your book but don’t want to self-publish or go through having to find an agent, we are open to submissions from unrepresented writers!

www.thirdwheelpublishing.com

As promised, here is a free Notion template for you to outline your book.