Between the preparation and the editing, the first draft might be the most straightforward part of writing. Yet, it’s usually the one that requires the most clear mind in order to finish.
With your research finishes and your outline settled, the first draft is a simple creation of the words that convey the ideas you wish to express. If you have familiarity with English and you can keep se;f-doubt from creeping in, it shouldn’t prove too much of a challenge, as it’s the mere act of putting the thoughts in your head to paper. Form? Technique? Style? You can worry about that in editing much later.
I’m a huge fan of finishing a first draft as fast as possible. These three common sense techniques should help you accomplish it.
1. Set a time limit
Put a time limit on writing your first draft. Use a timer that you can easily look at and stay focused on the task. Every time you’re going to do something else other than the first draft (distractions), pause the timer. This will help condition you to work on the first draft with a fixed timeframe.
2. Put placeholders
If the right words won’t come, skip it. A first draft is not the time to dwell on writing niceties. Should any questions arise, just ignore it and keep writing. When you “know” you need to write something particular, but can’t find the words to do it, put a placeholder as a reminder. That will keep the first draft writing flowing.
3. Don’t run checks
While we always advice people to use a good writing software, the first draft phase in not the time to do it. Get through the entire writing first and do the software-based corrections at the editing portion of your writing.
