K Sawyer Paul

I think I’ve finally figured out my first draft workflow. It’s taken a long time, and I’m sure it’ll change with the next book, but this is what has helped me slide through the last few months.

I either scribble things out in my notebook or type on my typewriter (yes, a real typewriter). I don’t touch the computer until I transcribe from the notebook/typewritten page. I do this for two reasons, and both have to do with eliminating distraction. I’ve come to the conclusion that multitasking is a myth at best and a writers’ nightmare at worst. The important thing is to write down your story. It can be bad. In fact, it is an inconsolable inevitability that it will be bad. But that’s okay. The important and painful thing is to get the rough words out. I like the typewriter more, but it’s less portable. With the typewriter, my fingers have to work harder. It makes it impossible for me to do anything else. At least with a notebook you can doodle.

When I’ve got a chapter or half a chapter written or typed out, I’ll break out the laptop and use Writeroom to peck it in. This is where the draft gets a little better. Simply in the act of typing words I’ve already written, I think of how to improve it. So I change sentences around, replace synonyms, etc. It sounds redundant but I’m really creating a second draft, and that’s really important. Having the safety net of the first draft makes the second one actually quite easy. That’s the draft I generally send out to people who want to see chunks of what I’m working on. It’s still rough, but it’s something.

Why Writeroom? Same reason I use the typewriter. The screen goes black and there’s nothing but the text. I can’t multitask. Maybe other people can but it’s just not in the cards for me. So any software that forces me to pay attention is good news.

Anyways, that’s how I arrive at a first draft.