Finishing the First Draft

Six months ago, I opened a blank document and started writing what would become The Needs of the Many.

An idea sparked that I couldn’t stop thinking about and I decided it should be a book. Trouble was, I wasn’t a writer. I foolishly decided that I would give it a try – vastly underestimating just how much work it would be. Had I known, I might not have attempted it.

Even after I had begun writing, I thought this was going to be my one and only chance to write a novel. After all, I had gone my whole life without ever even considering being a writer.

Somewhere along the way that changed.

I began keeping notes for future projects. Story ideas accumulated faster than I could write them down. Suddenly I had a backlog of ideas all waiting to become stories someday. The process of creating characters, and building a world unlocked some sort of creative mechanism in my mind.

I look forward to exploring those ideas in the future.

I think my biggest lesson of the first draft is that finishing matters. Not because the draft is perfect. It isn't. Not because the work is done. It definitely isn't. Finishing matters because a completed draft can be improved. An unfinished manuscript can only be imagined.

There is still revision ahead. Beta readers. Editing. Cover design. Publishing.

But for the first time, the story exists from beginning to end. Six months ago, it didn’t.

I set out to see if I could write a novel, and today I know that I can.