Cogitate, ruminate and daydream all you want. But until you have a first draft, you have no evidence that progress has been made.
In the theater it is often said that plays are made to be re-written. And re-written. But not until a first draft is in hand.
The fear of creating imperfect plays, prose, poems is what stops most writers from progressing. This is not to say a rough draft of your work must quickly be placed in the hands of collaborators and editors. It is admittedly difficult to share material the writer knows is not — yet — polished.
So find a balance. As Goethe once wrote, “Do not hurry, do not rest.” Solidify scenes and sequences so that they suggest your intentions, even if they are not “finished” quality. By doing so the writer distances himself/herself from the details that will scratched at with notes, and takes hold of the core values. These may change, too, but the surface of things can easily be modified once the heart of the matter is defined.
The first draft must be read before rewritten. Sound stupid? Yet so many writers are impatient and impolite: they destroy their own writing by insisting it can be better before they fully appreciate what they’ve achieved.
The first draft is the cornerstone to future improvements. Get ‘er done, and then treat it like a life raft. It will take you further, even in choppy seas.
Other ghostwriting posts:
- How to Ghostwrite a Stage Play: The Beginning
- How to Ghostwrite a Stage Play: Prepare to Fail
- Ghostwriting Lesson: Capturing Voice and Story Takes Time
