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The first draft of a fiction novel is known as the junk draft in my five-draft method. Other authors and editors may call it something else, and you may simply call it draft one. It's where you first open your word processor or novel writing software and type in the file name and save it. During the first draft, many authors encounter some problems during the process. If you're not to this point and you are looking at a blank page, check out How to Quickly Start Your Next Fiction Novel.
1. You Get Stuck
It’s very common to get stuck in a first draft. It typically happens at the beginnings and ends of chapters, but it can also occur in the middle of a chapter or scene. In this instance, you may not know exactly what to write. You may not feel inspired to write a particularly violent, difficult or intimate scene. Whatever the reason, you can handle all of these problems pretty much in the same way.
Stuck at the front of a chapter
If you move to your next chapter and can’t think of a way to open it, just take care of the important parts. If you know a particular scene is going to happen, just write down that part of the chapter. You can put in all the filler information later.
Read more: Understanding 8 Common First Draft Problems and What to Do About Them
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Your novel is like your baby—of course you want to nurture and protect it. But at what point does nurturing become nitpicking? If you find yourself revising the same chapter for the tenth time or hesitating to share your work because it's “not quite there yet,” you may be dealing with what I call Perfectionism Complex.
For many new fiction writers, the desire to create something extraordinary can quietly morph into fear—fear of judgment, of failure, of “getting it wrong.” This fear disguises itself as a commitment to quality, but in reality, it can paralyze your progress, erode your confidence, and even keep you from finishing your book.
Here’s how perfectionism sabotages your writing process—and how to reclaim your creative flow.
🚫 1. Perfectionism Interrupts Your Creative Rhythm
When you're in a writing groove, the worst thing you can do is hit pause to fix commas or rephrase one sentence five times. Yet perfectionism urges you to edit before the draft is even complete. This disrupts the part of your brain responsible for flow, imagination, and storytelling.
Creative writing and editing use different mental muscles. Trying to engage both at once is like pressing the gas and the brake at the same time.
Tip: During drafting, resist the urge to edit. Jot down a note if something needs fixing later. Your only job during the first draft is to get the story down.
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Writing should be a passion; a talent most say they wish they could do. The general perspective of an author is that they are extraordinary, making words come to life so easily. For the majority, this is not the same perspective a writer has about their work, their skill, their talent. Yes, they are passionate about their words, but most are not confident.
There are several reasons why an author/writer has low self-esteem when it comes to putting fingers to keypad.
NEGATIVELY COMPARING THEMSELVES TO OTHERS:
Looking at the success level of fellow authors whether it be books or articles, can be daunting. The competition is fierce, and if a writer is not a best-seller or as rated as high as others in the freelance world, it can cause them to question their talent. Comparing success levels of others instead of focusing on their own positives can lead to the “they must be a better writer” than me syndrome, a definite red flag of low esteem. A writer’s talent is their individual talent, never compare the uniqueness of your own work.
DOUBTING THEIR OWN INSTINCTS:
A true writer instinctively knows whether their words will capture an audience and keep their attention. However, because a large audience may be reading their work, self-doubt may begin to enter the mind of the author. “Will they like it?” “Can they follow what I’m saying?” Thus, self-esteem begins to enter in if allowed. In most cases, going back to the first instinct will be the one correct path to take as we should always follow our knowledgeable instincts.
FEAR
Fear of failure will most definitely bring about the low self-esteem factor in writers. Rejection, low interest in one book or even one article can cause shame. If a writer has been rejected or criticized in some way, it can cause them to feel they are not worthy and will not try again. However, a writer should not over-analyze a piece of work that wasn’t accepted in a positive manner, a writer may choose not to explore that genre again, instead of using it as constructive criticism.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS:
Of course, an author sets out to write the top-selling book or write the perfect article. It is possible to set our expectations too high, and when if they are not met, self-doubt about whether they are a good writer or not will devour them. It is not that a writer should not strive to abduct a captive audience, that is expected. It is when the high expectation is lower than anticipated that an author begins to once again feel unworthy of their written word. Always strive to give the people what they want, and write from the heart, passion is the key.
There are several factors as to why writers may not feel good enough as they aim to entertain, give knowledge, tell a story. People are reading their work, and that is pressure. Confidence is a balance of acceptance, and the writer must continue to strive.
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Those of us who want to write a fictional story know that this is no easy task. It does require a vivid imagination and a whole lot of drive to get the book done along with the discipline to go through all the drafts to get it just right. However, no matter how many times we may stop to edit our story there is still a chance that we could fall into making some of the most common mistakes known to writers. Yes, authors who are published through a publishing house will have an editing department who could catch these errors but this is the era of self-publishing and more aspiring authors are taking this route. So, these mistakes are so easy to fall into that even some of the most well-known authors who are best sellers have to be cautious of falling into these pitfalls. So, what are these common editorial problems that plague every author be it aspiring or established? Well, below we will go into some of these and ways in which you can go about avoiding these in the future.
1. Using Mixed Verb Tenses
No matter how experienced you are at writing fiction, you may still use mixed verb tenses. This is not just in fiction writing but in non-fiction and even article writing. We can find all ourselves writing in past tense, which is the desired format for fiction writing then fall into present tense or past present tense. I know in my fiction writing, I tend to put in a lot of "hads" before the verbs. During the editing process, I take the "hads" out.
Solution: Don't sweat this in the first few drafts. If you see them, fix them, but remember your first few drafts is the time to write your thoughts down and not so much worry about the editing aspects. Once you've solidified your story and have started the editing process in earnest, pay attention to your verb tenses. If you need to, you can even read the manuscript out loud to try to catch this common error and/or have a trusted friend or family member read it.
2. Beware of Overused Words
Have you ever read your novel and realized you have 10,000 grins, sighs or nods. These are just a few of the overused words and actions that authors use while drafting their manuscripts. Other commonly overused words include 'as well', 'also', 'then', 'as' and 'when' that we tend to find ourselves using way too often. In fact, if you do a search for this terminology in Google, there are large lists of these words available to view. Perhaps we aren't prone to using all the words but odds are we do find ourselves using at least one word more often than we should throughout our writing.
Solution: Read the sentence, if it still flows well without the overused word, then guess what, the word isn't needed. If you're really concerned, you can 'find' the specific word in your word processor then decide whether to delete, replace and leave the word.
3. Using the Wrong Word (Sound alike words)
How many times have you typed 'its' when you meant 'it's'. What about 'than' when it should have been 'then'? This is another incredibly common mistake. After all, just think about the last time you wrote the wrong 'there'. These issues are often called grammar mistakes. However, I disagree. At a certain point in our author careers, we understand the definitions of all these words. However, we still make these "typos". Our brain told our hands that "there" or any "there" sounding words was the correct word in the sentence, and our hands typed a different their. the good news is that you don't have to comb through 80,000 words to find these mistakes.
Solution: The solution to this is a good proofreading once you're finished with your novel, but you can also use applications like Grammarly and Hemingway to help you find these mistakes.
These are just a few of those common errors that plague authors. The best advice that can be given is to not be afraid to edit your work. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect at first, in fact, it never will be, not in this life is. Just know that editing at least five times will help to catch common errors. Another piece of advice is to have someone else read to work be a trusted friend or even a beta reader, getting feedback will help to ensure that these errors are not only avoided but that the story flows well.
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Here are three possible software options for writers that will help you write your book.
Read more: 2 Free Writing Software Choices for Fiction Writers