First Drafts Made Easy

        By T. Evan Schaeffer

        First drafts are an unfortunate necessity.  No finished piece of writing--whether a brief, a memorandum, or even a letter--was completed without a first draft.

        But what a painful task!  We've all had the experience of beginning a first draft, only to stop before we've barely started, saying to ourselves, "Not now.  I just can't."

         I can't.  I won't.  I'm too busy.  I'm feeling tired.  Maybe a little later.   

         You know what happens next.  Nothing.  Without a first draft, you can't finish. 

        But is it possible we make first drafts harder than they need to be?  Maybe so.  There are ways to overcome the initial hurdle of a first draft.  Using these six tips, it's possible to make the drudgery almost fun.

        What are the benefits?  Faster first drafts with less pain.  In a single sitting, you can complete a first draft and be on your way.

        No longer will you dread beginning.  You'll just begin.  And the entire project will be completed in much less time.

         1.  Begin with an outline

         The longer or more complex the final document, the more you'll need a roadmap to consult if you get stuck. 

         Don't neglect this simple task.  For most projects, the outline can be as primitive as a list of ten points you want to cover.  Not only will an outline help you later, but it will immediately focus your subconscious mind on the task at hand.  With the outline at your side, you can get started on the draft.

         2.  Turn off your internal editor

        Writing experts have long known that one's creative abilities, seated in the right side of the brain, are often at odds with a left-brain internal editor.  The secret is knowing how to silence the internal editor when it's not wanted, so you can string together sentences without regard to whether they're "right."  Revision comes later.

        For now, ignore the dissenting voices in your head.   They're the ones telling you, "It's not good enough!  Now that's embarrassing.  You're an idiot!"

        Don't be intimidated by the perfect prose you read in books and magazines.  Even the most skilled writers had to begin with a first draft.  They won't show them to you, but if they did, they wouldn't look much different than yours.

        Sloppy?  Messy?  Chicken scratch?  Don't worry, just get it down. 

        3.  Let it flow

        When writing a first draft, there aren't any rules.  Not grammar, not punctuation.  The goal is simply to fill the page as quickly as possible.  That means beginning wherever it seems the easiest--the beginning, the middle, or the end.  Using my outline, I often begin a first draft in the middle, then expand in whatever direction seems easiest to follow.

         Go with the flow.  As you write, open your mind to new ideas.  They'll seem to come from nowhere.  These ideas are gifts.  Capture them on paper and move on. 

        4.  Choose the right tools

        To write a first draft quickly, you must be comfortable with your writing tools.  If you work best with pen and paper, use pen and paper.  If you use a computer, use that.

        Many lawyers resist the idea of dictating long briefs and memorandum.  But when you remember that the goal is to work fast, you might want to give it a try.  Pick up the Dictaphone and begin speaking.

        The same organizational rules apply.  Start in the middle if necessary.  With the magic of word processing, it's easy to rearrange later.

      5.  Have a conversation

        Because conversation comes more easily to most of us than formal writing, it's possible to trick yourself into writing an effortless draft by imagining a conversation with a friend or associate.

        How?  Begin the draft by writing "Dear X."  If you want to remind yourself to maintain a level-headed tone, address your first draft to the judge.  If you want to keep your legal reasoning as simple as possible, address the first draft to your grandmother.

        6.  Force yourself to finish

        Speed will generate speed.  Don't slow down to ponder this or that aspect of your argument.  It's not the time to spend ten minutes crafting the perfect phrase.  That comes later, when you're revising. 

        Learn to use the word-counting function on your word processor, then tell yourself you won't stop for a break until you've written 500, 1000 or 2000 words.  Or force yourself to keep at the draft for an hour.  Simple games like these can keep you moving towards the end.

         Don't stop to look things up.  When you come to something that's stumped you, simply type a blank line and move on.  The blanks can be filled in later.

         Writing a first draft quickly takes courage, since you may be confronted later with a lot of garbage you can't believe you wrote.  But you'll be able to clean up the mess.  On the other hand, you can't revise a blank piece of paper.

         Quick first drafts make editing easier.  Sometimes writers become wedded to what they've written.  They have trouble cutting and pruning their words.  But with quick first drafts, you aren't on a first name basis with your prose.  You can cut, snip, chop with abandon.  Once you've removed the excess, rearrange the remaining text into something resembling a flowing argument, then use these tips again to bang out a second draft.

        At some point in the project, you'll need to consider the finer points of a good writing style--grammar, usage, punctuation, word choice.  But don't do it until you've completed the first draft.  Any earlier is too soon.

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