How to Draft A Book | Finish Your First Draft
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2020
- I'm going over the basics of how to finish a draft for your first book. How much brainstorming should you do? Should you outline? How do you get started? Tips for pushing through obstacles?
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Outlining/Craft Resources to look up:
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It’s insane to think a year ago I watched these kinds of videos all the time and now I’m almost done with the second draft of my 90k word novel and am looking for alpha readers!
Congrats!
Oh yay! That is so exciting. Congrats on how far you have come and good luck with the rest of the journey!
@ApricotStone what’s your pitch?
@Rob Hillman A peasant and two nobles team up to take down the monarch, but with disastrous consequences. Think A Memory Called Empire meets Hamlet in a fantasy setting.
ApricotStone go!go!go!
*You must start writing* *You must start writing* *You must start writing* *You must start writing* *You must start writing*
The mantra I need.
340 writing days a year X one hour per day = 340 hours
250 words per writing day X 340 = 85,000 words
Me: How to Stop Procrastinating and Be Courageous 😛
I somehow managed to make a 500 word scene into a (current) draft point of ~30k words
Honestly...that's awesome! You're a third of the way done if you're looking to write a 90K word fantasy or sci-fi novel.
King Kolbae, that's good! No, not good, it's brilliant! Keep writing!
For a second I misunderstood this comment and was both amazed and horrified that you managed to stretch out a 500 word scene into over 30k. 😂😂
@@Derxe123 Oh my god that's what I thought too
@@blehh2296 wait what did they mean then?
I needed this. I've been in the pre writing stage for three months, and I couldn't stop tinkering with the set up, worldbuilding and plot. I'm diving in head first into drafting starting today. Time to write first and ask questions later.
How are you doing with your first draft? :)
UPDATE!
It's been seven month since this comment but I hope your work is getting on well if it isn't finished already !! 🤙🏾
Yess this!!
it's been 2 years now
I finished my first ever draft in December and my god it's messy but I'm so proud of it
When you talked about the endless cycle of pre-writing, I felt that. I’m out here acting like pre-writing is an Olympic sport 😂. This was the kick in the butt I needed! I keep thinking I need all the answers, but I’ll make more progress if I just go ahead and start already.
Just hit the 20K mark on my latest novel and I'm definitely hitting the writing wall. i'm feeling the dread of never making it to my 65-70K goal. (Especially since I'm super close to my midpoint and fear that I'm underwriting my story.) BUT I will celebrate the accomplishment of finishing the first 20K. Celebrate those milestones and keep writing, everyone!
Congrats and keep going!!!
Persevere!!!! It doesn’t matter if it’s underwritten, that’s what editing it for:)
And that’s exactly why I don’t count words until I’m done. XD Just write your story, man! Don’t worry about the word count; you can always fix that with editing!
@@azuroslazuli6948 Thank you! I did end up hitting my 70K goal and actually got to 78K which I never thought possible. But I did it! :)
@@LexieReilly Ahh well done!!
I thought i was an outliner, but after this maybe Im meant to be a discovery writer, I will be in “prewrting” so long, ill move from one story to another without writing much of anything.
sameeee!!
Me too!!
SAME! I'm an official pantser. However, I do outline the basics such as characters and what concept I want!
Love what you said about first drafts not being perfect.
I like to think of first draft as demos and we know most artists wouldn’t release the demos as the official version.
You just _literally_ blew my mind! That's an awesome way to look at it. It also makes it less scary 😅
I suffer from anxiety since I was 19 years old and I've been putting my novel on hold due to school but instead writing a French language novella for some of my teachers. My French is intermediate and I had one teacher who told me that my French grammar was "a real shitshow and straight up an embarrassment" on my part but I wrote my first draft and it took me a month to finish it.
I am now line editing the novella but when she said to "don't give up," "be kind to Yourself," "make this Your learning book"...essentially that is what I am doing with this novella. I did set up a deadline and that is until March 23 of this year. I nearly cried when she said that because my mental health had always been beating me up to "be perfect or give up because it is trash and that this one professor is correct about me" when my brain tried to convince me, "but it is a learning process."
I am still continue to line edit it, anyway. I know it is going to be done so Thank You for Your encouragement 🤗🌹
I love how everyone is sharing their progress in the comments! Congrats and you can push through! 😊
How can I stop reading books and actually finish my own book? I keep lying to myself each time that I'm reading for research purpose 😅
ramona robot
You should continue reading because most prolific writers are avid readers. Try to balance reading and writing. Read a few chapters of your novel and you will surely finish it.
I feel like I got caught 😅
Just do it
I do both I read a couple chapters a day then write.
I wrote two messy, almost-finished drafts. I need to re-write and work through most of those drafts to figure out how to make them work. It's super scary and I am not sure if I can do it. But I don't want to give up these ideas and start something new. So thank you for reminding me that all it really takes is getting my butt back into that chair!
:) you can do it.
I would recommend to make a list with things you love, hate or are not sure about in your current draft and then figure out like this how you can combine the scenes and make them work :)
How is it?
Oooh, I cannot jump scenes! XD I had so many instances when I really wanted to get to a particular scene. But THAT was what drove me on with the current one. XD Finish this boring one so I can write that funny one later.
I've been doing my research, outline, plotting, ect for 5 years. Last year I wanted my first draft done in 6 months. I plan for my novel to be 95k words, got stickers and a planner, only wrote about 10k words.
I will try again with being kinder yet stern with myself as I try again with this new advice.
Thank you so much.
Alexa donne is sunshine and life force! Can't imagine writing without her support!
Have I already finished my first draft? Yes.
Am I working on my second? Sure.
Am I still gonna watch this? Absolutely.
*Cries in so many Works-In-Progress*
Omg, this is exactly what I needed to hear! I never cellebrated finishing my first draft because I found it waaay too messy. But you know what? I am sooo happy that I wrote that much! I'm going to gift myself a book for sure! Thank you so much for opening my eyes👁!😍😍😍
Hi, my name is Michael snd I have acute "Pre-writer's Syndrome" and chronic "Imposter's Syndrome". It's been 0 days since my last 'not writing'.
I am addicted to work/life imbalance, lack of discipline, apathy, fear, lack of focus, - and lately, I've started doing a lot of nothing useful.
But I have been lurking here for some time, hoping to kick these habits.
Thank you for accepting me.
>; )
Oddly, though, I am an outliner (and :: gasp :: I'm fond of the Snowflake method concept)... O.O. lol
Just made it to 50k in my first draft! She’s very right when she says to stop and “smell the flowers” with each milestone in your book. Doing so has definitely helped me in pushing through the middle parts and staying motivated as a writer!
For my current historical romance, I spent six months of researching and outlining, wrote the draft in three months and now I am taking a one month break. Then I will enter the editing phase. So exited!!
I do longhand first and then I type it up and edit as I do it. I'll edit more and add more while on word, but after a certain point.... I gotta print it out and go at it with a pen. I'll walk around with chapters and edit them when I have free time in the day.
I wanna try this...the printing out part to edit.
Omg seriously I Still haven't finished a single book I've started because I get so caught up in planning and world building I confuse myself and have to keep changing things before I get anything written. It's literally easier for me to figure it out as I go along- including character personalities, than to just sit for hours plotting and creating. I don't know why I keep listening to people who swear you HAVE to plot first. As a teen I actually finished stories just pantsing. They were bad and shorter than they should've been. But I had entire first drafts finished. Thank you for validating pantsing. 🙏💜
I’ve been sitting on this idea for a novel for almost two years now, and I’m finally pushing myself to write it! These videos help a lot!
I suddenly feel better about my first draft. Thank Alexa. x
The best advice I’ve heard in terms of the first draft is that it’s the one you write for yourself. Be self indulgent. Write that cheesy line or that cliched metaphor or that maximum-edge moment. The first draft is for your eyes only, so make it as fun to write as possible. Making it fun to read is what editing is for.
It's so valuable to go back to the basics. I've been attempting to finish one book for years, and it has started to look like rocket science. This video reminded me that I just need to force myself to finish, and fix everything later.
Alexa, I don't write in English but, luckily, everything you say can be applied to stories/books written in any language, and writer, because your truth is universal. Thanks for this course.
This is exactly the video I’ve been looking for. Thank you, Alexa!!!
I wrote 60,000 words over the summer, and got stuck. I couldn’t get to the ending, as I have always approached things as a pantser who spends a lot of time pre-writing and world building a pretty large iceberg. But man, I get really stuck trying to create an ending. Now I’m circling back and forth to fill out the middle and write the ending for the first time.
You have such a good combination of real talk and encouragement. This video in particular had so many good tools. Thank you for saying that being at 50,000 words means you’re so close. I’m pretty sure I’ll be cutting a least half of what I wrote over the summer, but I’m getting there.
Presley here!
Drafts for me are really hard yet so fun. 🙃 I finished a draft and I'm so exited. Thank you Alexa !!!
Congratulations! Hoping to get there myself.
This is so helpful! I’m a poet by nature. Fiction is a totally different beast. This info is broken down in really digestible ways. Thank you!
I was presented to Scrivener just before finishing my first book. It is the best tool made specifically for writers!!! I just love it! I cannot write without it anymore!
Just finished writing 17k words of my new novel and it's just the prologue and the first three chapters. It's starting to feel like a drag but I remove 2 hours every day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I leave the weekend to do edits. Although, Alexa's videos bring the energy and motivation to keep writing. Slow and steady wins the race, right?
I NEEDED this!!!! ever since starting med school I have felt super scattered and I just haven't made the time ! but there's always time!
To piggy back off what she had mentioned about finding time, I tend to keep a notebook on hand at work for sporadic little ideas or things I want to write down. Sometimes I only have a minuet or two to write something and sometimes I write through lunch. Actually I find that I have better ideas and work more diligently on my book when at work lol! Probably because I have less to distract me in terms of entertainment and Id prefer to do almost anything, other than working lol.
I absolutely love your tips, thank you! Also, I am completely obsessed with all of your make up looks :)
Alexa! This is EXACTLY a video ive been looking for for days. THANK YOU!! just in time!!
Another extremely helpful video, Alexa. Just what I was needing this week. I always enjoy how you look at writing from different perspectives, giving each type of writer the tools needed to succeed. Thank you!
Thank you for your inspiration! Your points in this video have helped me immensely. 🌷
First and foremost, I want to say thank you for your videos. At first, all I wanted to do was binge-watch every video before starting my project. Luckily, I would catch on to your mantra-like phrase "Just write."
After hammering this into my head, I reached a compromise. When sitting down to start writing, I now only watch one to two of your videos to start incorporating your suggestions. Each day, I learn a few new things and improve my draft exponentially with each attempt.
I especially love in this video, your iteration of the draft is not to be perfect really inspired me. In fact, I hit pause and sat down with the intention of finishing a paragraph and ended up writing over 1,000 words. I'll find out in editing if they were shit or not. However, that bridge comes later.
I enjoy your tutorials and again want to thank you for your dedication in posting them. So many others just post for a short period and then disappear. Your continuity and diligence, along with the multitude of topics, reassures me that I can trust your advice and follow it.
Keep up the great work!
Im talking this as a challenge to complete my first draft in 9 days because its inspired by real events and i already know the plot and events. Lets hope i hit the 108k with writing 3k each day for 4 hours !!
Wow these videos are so inspiring and informational and yoh keep it real. I'm not even a traditional aspiring writer but they help so much with my progress in trying to draft scripts for a comic I want to make so yeah thanks a TON. I LOVE this channel.
what a coincidence.............. I'm at the midpoint of draft 1 on my new book!
Best videos hands down!!! Much appreciated
It literally felt like a motivation speech, thank you !
Thank you. You're a great teacher.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you! Currently just past the midpoint of the first draft of my first novel and dying, this is perfect!❤
Hi Alexa! I been following you since you only had a couple hundred subscribers, glad to see and follow your growth.
With your guidance, I've finished my book (I'm in my third round of edits). One piece of advice I can add to your awesome video is to also know what POV you're planning to write in, otherwise you're looking at one hell of a revision!
Thank you so much Alexa - this video came at a perfect time where I've hit a bump in plot after having to take some days off - this was a help. :)
Thank you for this! I have been binge-watching your videos as I wrestle through my first draft. Just bought Brightly Burning as a present for myself and I’m so excited to read it!
Thank you for all your invaluable advice, it really is helping me progress.
It would be amazing if you could do a video on historical fiction (and historical romance) theres barely any TH-cam writers that talk about the genre!
Like is it a dead genre??
I have plans to do a collab with a historical romance writer!
It isn't dead by any means, there's so much historical fiction (buried in the fiction section of bookstores). Have you thought of joining a local historical fiction community or a group on-line for writerly support?
Alexa Donne Great! Looking forward to it
Galaxy Lucia no I haven’t, but I’ll consider it now, thank you 😊
@@jasminef6810 historicalwriters.org/ My next novel is historical fiction so good luck on your journey!! I'll be doing my own research later, but I also have friends who write exclusively this genre to give me pointers.
Excellent tips! Thanks for sharing!
This was so helpful. I'm terrible at setting aside time to write and needed a kick in the butt. So thank you.
i LIKE YOUR STYLE. AS A BEGINNING WRITER FOR YEARS I THINK WITH YOUR INSTRUCTION I WILL FINALLY GET SOMETHING DONE. THANKS FOR BEING THERE
Needed this! Realized I'm not doing as bad as I thought I was. Got to bask in a minute of personal accomplishment. Thank you!
You have to be one of the most encouraging people I have at the pleasure of listening to you. Thank you for all of your videos discuss the writing process.
This one is saved to my fav list and it has been watched every time i get stuck or want to just throw my papers out the window! Thanks :)
This is so thorough and helpful! Thank you.
Very helpful, Alexa! I just started writing my first novel a week ago. Something I’ve always wanted to do but have talked myself out of it for years because I have zero qualifications like I thought I needed to have to write a book. Also because I had no idea how to start. This video is very helpful with technical ideas but also affirming in that one just needs to write and not worry about perfection or having every aspect of the book figured out beforehand.
Thank you for sharing!!
I love this video! I finished my first first draft recently and I really agree with the consistency and learning about story structure! My rule with writing is to never miss twice: if I miss one day of writing, I absolutely cannot miss the next day. This, and a really small minimum daily goal (at least 500 words a day) really helped me.
Your enthusiasm is contagious! I've been taking a break from writing for a few months (I'm currently studying abroad lol) and I've started working on my new project and this just MAJORLY hyped me up to get going!
This is a video that takes about basics not particulars but it does it really well. Just write! ✍️
I know it's an old video, but thank you so much, Alexa. I'm extremely self-conscious about not being perfect and struggling with certain parts of the process and you're helping me through this! I've written a plethora of short stories, but I'm now writing my first novel and it started as so overwhelming. but I'm pushing through, it's getting easier as I go further.
Great information and very upbeat, inspiring and motivating. Thank you Alexa, looking forward to just getting it done. have a beautiful day 😀
Just wanted to say I found a copy of Brightly Burning in paperback at B&N. Was excited to pick it up and can't wait to read it!
Thank you so much, Alexa! I loved this video! Keep going ❤️
Thanks for this video. It really helped. I have literally been pre-writing and putting off actually writing a first draft for actual years. This video helped take a lot of that pressure away.
Thanks sooo much for this! I needed somebody to tell me this because (I'm not kidding when I say this) I've been in the pre-writing stage for 2 years! Since then I've finally started to set goals for myself and start writing these books!
I’m an amateur writer and I really love your videos, they help me a lot! I gave up one time when I didn’t like the story I started, but then I discovered the issue and fixed it!
Words of wisdom Alexa. I’ve written a few produced features now playing around in the novel form. These tools work!
Good Lord, Thank you so much for this video! I needed!
I know you're not very active on here, but I just want to say thank You! Your advice always helps me as a new writer! I hope you're having a good year!
That eye makeup is on point 👌👌
Omg thank you so much for your videos they have been extremely helpful. I've started about 10 first drafts in the last five years and threw each one away because I thought my drafting process wasn't legit or professional. Turns out it was fine... but I got so discouraged because I just thought I wasn't writing/organizing "correctly" if that makes sense...
You said lots of stuff I needed to hear.
Thank you for making videos. I watch your videos if I ever feel like not wanting to write. So yeah. Woo.
as a visual artist who is now trying her hand in the written word . . . This is really helpful!! Your candour is informative but relatable! I feel the directory of my creative ship now :) thanks so much and much love
I binged all your videos -- you're amazing!
I'm so glad you mentioned Scrivener- I just downloaded it and it does seem to be easier for writing and generating new ideas.😊
11.35-11.41: What sorcery is this?!
Jk; I am further along with my writing, now- but I felt that!
Idk if you'll see this comment, but tysm for this and your other videos. I just finished the 1st draft of my story today, and idk if I would have had I not found this channel
This was a whole collection of some atually REALLY good advice, thanks for the video, it really helped me get into the zone S2
Thank you Alexa. Don't know what we would do without you.
Lol I'm a total pantser. This last book all I had was the mmc and the mfc and knew the situation that brought them together. I couldn't think up a plot. So I started writing. When I came to the dead end, I went for a drive. It's the best way I have found to come up wirh ideas.
Boom! It took 9 days to finish 65000 knowing the scenes werent fleshed out. Now first edit has been scary but it's a great fun story and I'm enjoying it so much. I love your channel and come here for ideas. Youre very inspirational! ❤
This was a very helpful video
Hey Alexa--I love your videos, but rarely comment. Thank you so much for this vid today. I'm in the middle of my first novel and that 85K word count deadline feels like it never gets closer. *sigh* My goal is to finish before the end of February so I can begin my next novel that I'm really excited about. This is my practice novel; I've written fan-fiction but it didn't really prepare me for creating my own world and cultures and magic system for my story (not that it would have). Anyhoo. I'll stop rambling now. The timing is perfect for this video. Thanks again!
I did most of these drafting techniques by instinct having never studied writing. That was years ago. Retrospectively I'm still glad I found this video. (And your channel)
Thanks for this. I didnt realise I spend less time staring at blank pages now than when I started writing until you mentioned it. Progress.
I am a pantser/discovery writer, but I didn't know it! I didn't start writing my book for over 10 years because I *thought* I had to know all the details! But I didn't! I needed a beginning, some things to happen in the middle, and then I needed to know kinda where I wanted it to end. That was all! That was what I had when I sat down and started to write. I didn't know my MC was gonna join a thieves guild or get in trouble with a clan of vampires etc when I started. I didn't know he was gonna have a group of friends (6 of them) because not a single one of them was planned. XD But I'm so happy about all that now. :)
I'd like to thank you for your advice and vídeos! I've been trying to write a story for the past 15 years... but for the longest time, didn't had the proper Focus or mindset.
I watched a lot of good vídeos and gathered some awesome advise from booktubers, but to me, your tough love approach was what i truly needed to stop with excuses and tangents!
Yesterday i finished my First draft!
30k words of raw and messy storytelling, but it's there! It's real! And it's ready to be worked on!
Just stopped tô say thank you só much once again! I'll be watching your inputs about editing and ALL the other good stuff until i'm done!
Personal suggestion: Everyone has a cell phone for the most part. That phone likely has a word processor on it. Take your spastic notes when you get an idea and reserve your writing time for typing those notes out on your PC. It got me from 0 pages to 150 pages of a rough draft in a year, and I was very lazy about it.
Just started writing my first novel, having published 2 academic books and writing a third. VERY different skills and very different process. Thanks for all your videos. You're great!
Just found your channel and LOVED this. Subscribed!
On the subject of daily writing:
I'm writing a fanfic and don't have a lot of free time, so I type the story on my phone while riding the subway to or from college. I type as much per day as it takes to make the text exceed the screen size (about 100-150 words + extras so I don't drop a paragraph in the middle), and I stick to my three-part rule (conventionally speaking, "past," "present," and "future").
The gist of the method: Every day I reread what I wrote yesterday, write what I need to write today, and plan what I'll write tomorrow.
"Yesterday's text": thanks to this, I remember the context. Also, usually the next day I notice the bad choices I made yesterday, so when I reread the previous piece, I can make small changes. I may even rewrite an extreme amount if yesterday's text doesn't fit well with today's text or idea. I might even add a few paragraphs, but I remind myself that if I made changes to yesterday's text, they don't count for what I'm going to write today.
"Today's text": thanks to the context from yesterday's text and the general idea of what to write (thanks to yesterday's "tomorrow's text"), I write 100-200 words a day, reaching the necessary criterion (the text exceeds the phone screen) and making sure to finish a paragraph, but not a word more... Well, okay, a little more can be written, but it's best to leave the writing for the future.
"Tomorrow's text": instead of writing everything I'm inspired to in one day, I leave most of it to a rough outline of what needs to happen in the near future - because if I implement everything I've thought of at a fast pace, I'll lose ideas about what to write next, and the fear that there's nothing ahead can sabotage my inspiration. So, since I'm not in a hurry to get anywhere, I leave a plan for tomorrow and try to move toward it each day. My "today's text" seems to eat up "tomorrow's" and make it into a nice shape, and based on "today's text," I adjust the plan when it's more logical for the story to go in a different direction. And when there's not much of a plan left (usually a plan can last a week or more), I brainstorm based on what's needed for the overall plot and what's written.
This way I try to keep a comfortable pace, be able to correct mistakes as I write, and allow the characters to do unexpected things but still lead them to the desired outcome.
Thank you for all of your advice Alexa! The timing of this video is perfect. I'm just finishing up this semester of Uni and I intend to start my MG draft next week. My goal is to reach 48K by April. Wish me luck, I will definitely need it. 🥳
I'm not Alexa, but I wish you good luck:)
Good luck and easy, happy writing!
Great vid, so much wisdom for new authors. Thank you
Thank you Alexa for your inspiring videos!