7 tips for finishing your first draft!
"Try this process that has guided me through 1700+ freelance articles and 6 ebooks. It took me some years to catch on. Nobody showed me how!"
1. Look at your purpose statement (taped to your monitor), read the chapter title, go through your notes, and just start writing.
2. Divide that chapter into logical points or questions. Explain or answer them. Interviews help.
3. Don’t edit as you write; forget about spelling; use punctuation if you remember. When inspiration or words flee, put the vague idea in brackets and define it later. Your goal is to finish that chapter or section at that sitting.
4. Do your in-depth research on your off hours or after the first, rough draft is done.
5. Don’t spend forever writing. Sit, start where you stopped yesterday, and quit when it gets boring. The rest of the day is for the rest of your life.
6. Edit your starter prose in draft two. Trim it; re-organize it; add in the details that will make it fun to read and valuable to own.
7. A final thing: What you write stays in your head or on your computer. Don’t show the rough stuff to spouses, secretaries, or anybody else. It’s not ready. It’ll get good later. If they gripe or peek, tell them you will report them to the prose police.
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