Last week I talked about a friend who gave me inspiration for a new story. That same friend didn’t think I could do it, so, as I said, I worked over the weekend and began to expand the story. I added more characters, dialogue, expanded the setting and added other locations as well.
Starting a first draft can be a daunting task if you’ve never done it before. Where to start? In most instances, the beginning. How to start? That’s up to you. Some writers have a scene in their head, whether it’s the opening scene or one that ends up being later on in the story. They write that scene, and go from there. Other writers can sit down and outline a story, including characters, scenes, plots, subplots, and even important objects. There’s enough data that their ‘outline’ looks like a full manuscript and they’ve only started brainstorming.
The final archetypic writer is like me. I sit down and let the words flow out of me. No organization, no stopping to research or look up facts, I just sit down and write. Organization and facts are for later when I’m trying to make sense of everything. There are sometimes when a plot point is so intriguing I have to stop and look it up, but for the most part I plow on until I feel like I can write “The End” and be satisfied with what is on the page. Until I tear it apart in a first round of self-editing.
A first draft is about getting your story out of your head and onto the page. First drafts aren’t usually meant for anyone’s eyes other than the writer’s (and possibly a trusted alpha reader, but alpha readers are a whole separate topic).
My friend who gave me this inspiration fought me on the validity of it being turned into an actual story. They didn’t believe me that just a few paragraphs of what they considered nonsense and a lark just to poke fun at me. But that’s what first drafts are all about – diving deeper into a single setting, character, or other seemingly minute detail to see where it will take you.
Next time you don’t think you have enough to start, remember that a potentially novel-length story is being generated on only a few paragraphs of fun conversation between friends.
Was there a time you had an idea that you needed to get out but didn’t know how? Did you just start, or did you make a plan first? Let’s talk on Facebook!