You sit down to write a book--your first book--and there are questions swirling around in your head. But you have an idea and you can see the ending, so you start writing. And you write. And you keep writing. And then you stop writing because somewhere along the line, you lost motivation or direction or just looked at your work and thought, "This will never go anywhere."
We've all been there. It sucks. You feel like a failure.
But I'm here to tell you not to quit! These are common feelings that a lot of writers had starting out, and the only way to improve is to keep going.
I've complied this list of common first draft mistakes that I've either witnessed or made, in the hopes that it will help you get to the end of your book! Now, take these with a grain of salt. As I mentioned before, every person is different and some of these recommendations may not be right for you. But I've seen these pitfalls stump some friends from ever finishing a book, and I don't want that to happen to you!
Unfamiliar with genre/category
Every genre and category of writing has word count expectations, common tropes, overused plot devices, etc. You don't necessarily have to know these things if you're just writing for fun, but if you're goal is to write a book that will be published, it's important to go into a book with an idea of what those categories look like.
As an example, I'm currently writing--and soon to query--a YA Fantasy. The category of YA ranges in word count from about 50,000 words for Contemporary to 100,000 words for Sci-Fi or Fantasy. That makes my word count goal hover at about 90,000 words as these types of books are expected to be a little bit longer.
That being said, if I go into my book, write 200,000 words, and pitch it as a YA Fantasy, you can bet that agents are going to be concerned. I may even get a few rejections solely based on that word count.
The same goes for knowing genre. If I'm claiming to write a Fantasy, but there's no magic, it's set in our world, and the main character is running around solving a murder, it looks a lot more like a Mystery.
My recommendation is this: before you start writing, look at your idea and see if you can fit it into an age category and a genre. This will give a good idea of what your word count goal should be and where your book could fit in the market. Doing this work up front saves you time later on when you start to think about querying.
Also, read widely in your genre. Not just the best sellers, but anything and everything that catches your eye. This is the best way to get to know the market.
Dialogue
So, you've got a plan, you know what your genre and category is, now you're writing your book.
One of the most common mistakes I've seen in first drafts (and one that I made, too) is not treating a dialogue tag as part of one sentence.
If you're character is speaking and the dialogue tag is needed to clarify who is speaking, then, in context, it should look like this:
"I can't believe you ate all the waffles," she said.
OR
"I can't believe you ate all the waffles!" she said.
Note how the "s" in she is lowercase in both phrases. This is because the dialogue tage is still part of one sentence. Even if you're ending with an exclamation point or question mark. If the dialogue is simply a statment, end with a comma instead of a period inside the quotations.
However, this changes if the dialogue is followed by an action. For example:
"I can't believe you ate all the waffles!" She slammed her hand on the table.
In this case, the dialogue and the action are two separate sentences, but it's clear who was speaking from the fact that she is the one completing the following action.
This is a simple fix that you can make while drafting which will only help your edits later on.
Making your word count mean everything
Repeat after me: I am not my word count.
It can be easy to feel like a failure when your daily/weekly/monthly word count goals aren't being met. You set out to write 3,000 words in a day and come out with 4. Or maybe you write 3,000 words, but they're not your best. In fact, you can tell that all that work you put in is just going to be deleted tomorrow.
Word count goals are super helpful. When I'm drafting, I use them to help me see where I should be at according to my schedule. But I don't hold onto them too tightly. Some days, I'll exceed that goal and others I'll fall miserably short.
The important part isn't that I'm getting the exact number of words in each day that I set out to write, but that I show up.
Getting into regular habits of writing, even when the work you produce isn't at your ideal quality, will set you up for success. It takes perserverance to write a book, and later to be a published author. No matter how much you love what you do, there are going to be days when you don't want to work. And those days will be served by just sitting down with your computer or notebook and being present.
So remember: deleting is writing. Editing is writing. Research is writing. Outlining is writing. And even if it's one word a day, by the end, you'll still have a book.
Perfecting as you go
This one is more of a preference, but I wanted to include it because I've seen it cut a lot of writers off at the knees.
Some writers like to edit as they go. They'll write a chapter one day, and then go back and refine it the next day before they keep going. If this is part of your process, I admire you. I cannot do this.
For me, I make an awful, terrible, no-one-should-ever-read-this draft. I don't like it. There are tons of plot holes. But by the end of Draft 0 there's a book. After leaving it for a bit, I'll go back and make it into Draft 1. Something that's a bit prettier and more cohesive. Something that I could actually share with others.
The pitfall of editing as you go, especially if you're just starting out, is that you never get to the finish line. You keep going back and perfecting and tweaking and instead of taking that forward, you realize that it's never going to be where you want it and quit. Or you start comapring it to finished works. (I think we all compare our work to published books but like, really, that's such a terrible idea.)
My recommendation is to get everything onto the page. Any thought or scene or phrase that's swirling in your head, throw it into Word and then lock it away for at least 4 weeks. That way you have a book, and now you also have the space to edit it.
Not letting your book breathe
Tying into the last point, DO NOT start editing your book as soon as you finish writing it. Work on anything else. Outline a second book, draft something else, write poetry, read books, etc. There are certain things in your own writing that you will not be able to see in order to fix them if you don't take a step back.
Distance allows you to edit your work with fresh eyes. It lessens that attachment to certain phrases or characters or things that we feel have to be there--but really shouldn't be there. Once you let your work sit for at least a week, preferably 4 or more, then go back and read it. Have a notebook or document handy to write notes as you go.
Getting feedback too soon
I did this. The first book I ever wrote, I had someone read Draft 0. At that point, it wasn't really a book, but I didn't know what I was doing and I thought that it was ready.
In some ways, it helped me solidify what I wanted the book to be. It helped me see that things I thought were clear were not clear at all.
But it also brought another cook into the kitchen.
It meant that I was handing my baby to someone to critique and place their own opinions on. If you don't have a clear idea of what you're writing, you might end up taking advice that you don't want. It could spin your book in a whole different direction.
You know what you're trying to do, and getting feedback on that is important, but make sure that your work is in a place where you can handle those critiques. Where you know the direction your book is going and the goals that you have so you don't get weighed down by others' opinions. Because everyone will have them. Everyone will have an idea of what they want your book to be. But it's not their work, it's yours. You have the final say.
Overall, this is your process and your book. You should do whatever feels right to you! This is just a good starting place and a hope that someone will learn from the mistakes I've made (even if it's not me. Ha.).
I would love to hear some of your mistakes in the comments below! And if you're interested in following along my own writing journey, you can subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page. You'll also get my FREE character building worksheet and walk-through.
Happy writing,
Erin
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