If you're anything like me, when you're writing your rough draft, you wish once you've completed the rough draft, you're done. That you wrote everything perfectly and there would be no need for any changes anywhere and it's ready to published and will catch the eye of the first publisher or agent you send it to. But we all know it doesn't work like that.
Also, if you're like me, while you're working on the rough draft, you're sitting there thinking "Man, I'm such a great writer. This is amazing. It doesn't need any changes, it's perfect! I'm so brilliant getting it right on the first go." Then, when you read it after you've finished, you're thinking "Oh, gosh! This is awful! I can't have written this terrible stuff. Where is that amazing story I wrote?"
My friends, the rough draft is absolutely necessary to show us how much is still left to do after we've finished the first draft. And it's not pretty. It's not supposed to be pretty. If your rough draft looks like you just vomited out a bunch of words onto some pages, congratulations! You've mastered the rough draft!
So, without further ado, here's how I tackle the rough draft.
1. Just spit it out
Spit it out. That's basically it. The rough draft is just for the purpose of getting your story from you head to the paper. It's not about writing a carefully crafted novel. Don't worry about anything other than getting the words onto the page. Accept that it's going to be ugly. No one writes a pretty rough draft. If your rough draft isn't ugly, you did it wrong.
2. Whatever you do, don't edit
This is important. Don't edit your story while writing the rough draft, no matter how much you want to. If you're editing it as you go, you're getting ahead of yourself and not focusing on getting your story out, which is what you're supposed to be focusing on. It's okay to correct a misspelled word here and there, but don't go crazy. Don't fix dialogue or fill in missing plot holes. You'll have time for that. If you notice something that really needs to be edited, don't panic and don't fix it yet! Just make a note to come back and fix that part. Just relax. There is a time and place for editing, but it's not yet.
3. Take your time
Don't hurry with the rough draft. You don't have to get it out in one sitting. This process takes time. It's not a race against the clock. Go slow if you need to, your story will wait for you. Just remember to breathe. Take a nap between chapters. Write a chapter then take a break for a week. This process is rough enough without you feeling pressured to get the story out in a hurry. This book is your creation and you don't want to write it in a hurry. Slow and steady wins the race, my friends.
4. Once you've finished, forget about it
No, I don't want you to completely forget about the book you spent so much time on after you've finished the rough draft. What I mean is once you've gotten all the words out, take a lengthy break. Don't read or even think about your book for at least a week (many people recommend a month, and that's a good idea, but I usually can't wait that long). After all that messy writing, you need to occupy your mind with something else. I'm serious. Don't even look at your rough draft. Once you've taken some crucial time away from your book, when you look at it again, you will have a clear mind and fresh eyes and will be far more capable of noticing things that need to be fixed than you would if you'd started revising right after you finished the rough draft.
It's not much, but hopefully it's somewhat helpful. If you're writing a novel for the first time and really have no idea what you're doing, then maybe this gave you some ideas and, if so, I'm glad. It may not be how the professionals do it, but it's how I do it and it's worked out so far.
Just don't give up on your story. It's rough and there will be times you want to quit, but it will be worth it in the end. Just spit out that rough draft and then you're halfway done. Write that ugly first draft and be proud of it!
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