How to Write a First Draft

The thought of writing a first draft is exhilarating, but it can also be daunting. How are you meant to turn those ideas churning around in your head into a story?

To help you beat that blank-page panic, we’ve gathered some practical pointers on how to write a first draft of a novel.

Take a Trial-and-Error Approach

The bad news? There’s no one definitive answer to how to draft a story. The good news? There’s an infinite number of right answers—what matters is finding one that works for you. Don’t be afraid to try different strategies, trust your gut, and change direction if needed.

If you like to have a plan to follow, there are plenty of plot frameworks, novel road maps, and character sheets out there that will help you organize your thoughts and stay on track.

But if you later find this is too restrictive or an intriguing alternative comes up while you’re writing, it’s absolutely okay to diverge from your plan and see what happens. If it doesn’t work out, you have your original plot to fall back on.

If you’re more spontaneous and feel drawn to the idea of seeing where your imagination takes you instead, that’s a completely legitimate approach too. You can always create an outline later if you discover you need some more structure.

You might also opt for an approach that’s somewhere in between.

Lay a Firm Foundation by Pinning Down Your Core Ideas

It can help to pin down a few foundational ideas to guide you, whether you use them as the basis for a detailed plan or a springboard to start writing. You can return to them later if you start to feel lost.

Think about the concept—the idea at the heart of your story. See if you can distill it into a sentence or two. If not, you might need to do a bit more thinking first.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice could be roughly summed up as: “Two people must overcome societal pressures and their own prejudices to find happiness together.”

You could also frame your underlying idea as a “what if…” scenario. For instance, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies explores the question: “What if a group of schoolboys were stranded on a deserted island?”

Then there’s your main character’s character arc (their emotional journey). If you know roughly where they’re starting from and where you’d like them to be by the end, you have a direction.

Likewise, if you know what your characters’ goals are, what drives them, and what the stakes are for them, you can more effectively create conflict and opportunities for development by introducing obstacles. It also makes it easier to decide how they might act in a particular situation, enabling you to keep characterizations consistent.

Of course, these ideas can develop as you learn more about your story and characters.

Don’t Worry Too Much About What You “Should” Include

It’s best not to get too distracted by anyone else’s idea of what should be included in your first draft.

For some writers, a first draft is a shorter, bare-bones version of what the story might become. They might skate over aspects like descriptions in favor of getting the main plot points and character arcs down. It’s more of a proof of concept.

For others, a first draft is a complete version. Things might change during editing, but the initial draft is more or less a full story.

Then there are writers who throw everything into their first draft so that they have as much material and context to work with as possible for later ones. That could include things they’re pretty sure they’ll have to cut later but could still be useful background information.

It’s all about what you need from this initial draft.

Just Dive In and Start Writing

There’s no need to agonize about how to start a draft. Just find a point where you feel able to begin and get some words written.

It doesn’t have to be the beginning of the story. You don’t need a gripping opening line yet either. You can come back and craft a killer opening once you know what the rest of the story looks like.

You may have to spend some time “writing yourself in” too—getting comfortable with the characters, the voice, and/or the setting. Even though this can feel a bit like wading through mud, it’s time well spent if it helps you settle into the project.

Get Unstuck by Writing Out of Sequence

While some people find it more comfortable to write chronologically, you might discover that writing out of sequence helps.

Jumping ahead to a scene you feel more excited or certain about could help you get unstuck or rekindle your enthusiasm. It can even reveal things you hadn’t realized you needed to include earlier in the plot.

Quiet Your Inner Critic by Leaning Into the Imperfection

To get through a first draft, you’ll probably need to find some way of silencing your doubts. Many writers swear by the “messy first draft” approach for this.

This involves embracing the fact that you’re working things out as you go. You’re the only person who needs to see it, so it doesn’t matter if the plot is full of holes, the pacing is lumpy, and/or the prose doesn’t flow. You also don’t know what you might cut or rewrite in subsequent versions, so it arguably isn’t worth spending time on getting things just right until you have a better idea of whether that particular part is a keeper.

Concentrate on working out the story you want to tell first. You can work out the best way to tell it to others when you edit.

If you find that taking your time and cleaning up your work as you go works better for you though, that’s also an entirely valid approach. Just be careful that the need to polish what you’ve already done doesn’t keep you from adding new material. Done is better than perfect.

Make Steady Progress by Writing Little and Often

Finishing an initial draft can sometimes feel overwhelming. Breaking it down into achievable steps can help you keep moving.

A daily word count or time-based goal could help you get into a writing rhythm. If you’re able to sit down to write at the same time and in the same place, that’s even better. However, if life keeps getting in the way, try a weekly goal instead for more flexibility.

Even small gaps in your day are opportunities to make progress. Using clever time management techniques, like writing sprints (where you set a timer and write until it finishes), can help you make the most of these short slots.

Keep Up the Momentum by Writing as Quickly as Possible

While making steady progress is a sound strategy, you might find that writing in a concentrated burst suits you better. Many writers find that challenging themselves to write a draft novel in a limited time frame, like a month, helps get it done.

Doing it this way gives you a real sense of momentum. It helps you resist the urge to procrastinate and to edit as you go. It also means you’re able to get a sense of how the story works as a whole quicker than you would if you spent months chipping away at it.

If you’re intrigued by this approach, check out our 30-day writing challenge, Novel November. You’ll be writing alongside other writers and will have access to advice from bestselling authors, editors, and book coaches throughout the challenge.

Keep Track of Your Progress for Accountability and Motivation

Documenting your progress is a great way to keep yourself accountable. It also regularly reminds you to recognize how far you’ve come.

You could do this in a spreadsheet, but there are also specialized word count tracking tools available that come with additional features, like graphs, averages, and the ability to set goals.

These can be found in novel writing apps, but there are also sites where you can manually enter your daily totals. If you’re joining us for Novel November, you’ll be able to track your progress right here on the ProWritingAid website.

Plan for Lows With Some Motivation-Boosting Techniques

It’s almost inevitable that you’ll have points where your motivation runs low—most writers do. Plan for these by creating some pick-me-ups:

• Write a note to your future self about why finishing matters.

• Collect some inspiring quotes from successful authors.

• If someone has paid you a compliment about your writing or storytelling, try to find their original words or write them down as best as you can remember.

• Find a writing community online or in person. You could talk through your writing problems with people who really understand or get some extra accountability and encouragement at a cowriting session.

We have more tried and tested writing motivation tips over here.

Conclusion: Find a Way of Drafting That Suits You

Discovering how to draft a book (or any other creative writing project for that matter) is about discovering what works for you as a writer. If one particular approach doesn’t pay off, don’t be discouraged. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Just try a different way.

Hopefully, with some experimentation and a lot of determination, you’ll soon find yourself typing “the end.”