You Can’t Edit A Blank Page – Why I Love Messy First Drafts!

Last month, I talked about my long, drawn-out journey to being a writer. I offered some sage advice: “If you want to be a writer, write!” And yes, I really do believe it’s that simple. Your writing will start with a first draft, and I love a messy first draft because it means there have been words written. It means you are a writer, whether you publish or not, YOU ARE A WRITER! So, let’s talk first drafts and how they are an important part of your writing journey.

A first draft is about getting ideas down. It’s meant to be messy. Spelling, grammar, and structure can be imperfect. At this stage, it really doesn’t matter. A first draft’s purpose is exploration, not perfection. Think of it as scaffolding for your final work or like sketching a painting. An artist often begins with a sketch, rough lines, smudges, unfinished colors, but you can see the shape and direction the painting will take. That’s like your first draft, rough, imperfect, and a little scruffy, but you can see the shape and direction of the story.

Many of us have been told we need to be perfect, and this can hinder creativity. With a first draft, you can ditch the idea of perfection and experiment with your ideas. Remember, it’s not ready for submission or public scrutiny. Sentences don’t need to be perfect; they can be rough. You don’t need to know the ending yet; sometimes the story evolves as you write it. (Sharp intake of breath from all the planners out there!)

Every polished story starts with a first draft. Every book you have ever loved started as a messy first draft, so give yourself permission to be messy… it’s where the magic begins!

This was written by our contributing writer, Claire Walsh-Jones.

Image Source: Freepik, katemangostar

Posted

March 31, 2026

advice

Claire Walsh-Jones

Tags:

advice

Comments

2 responses to “You Can’t Edit A Blank Page – Why I Love Messy First Drafts!”

Mark Kramer

April 1, 2026

A lot of discussion gets laid down over writing, but little is talked about regarding rewriting!
A lot is overlooked about the writing PROCESS.
Good writing is more than getting letters on the page, it’s thoughtful ruminations, sometimes agonizingly so, about the right words their usage and their placements.
It’s about story and character. It’s about A LOT!
But it’s also about knowing when perfection is the enemy of completion.
So work hard. But complete the piece and, maybe, publish!

Reply
Lori Nadeau Richardson

April 13, 2026

So true! That first draft is where you start to lay down the bones. As a newbie author, or anywhere on the path , I suppose, one needs a place to begin to scaffold the ideas as they develop. And somewhere, you can look at what you have, and decide if where you’re going with it has merit- even for just yourself. But the truth is, if some part, even a micro piece of it speaks to you as the author, you can be pretty sure someone else will enjoy – or maybe even NEED your words.
Of course, that draft will likely need to be sculpted and maybe even restitched together, so the light and life in it shines before it’s ready to tottle out into the world.
But if you never begin, well, it’s just another dream, forgotten upon waking.

Reply

The Up & Coming Magazine