How to write a better first draft

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If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of ”just getting words down” as a way of writing a first draft.

I prefer to think about what I’m writing, putting care into the first draft and editing as I go. This means the first draft is usually pretty good and editing is quick.

But a lot of people say they find just getting words down to be a useful way of getting their ideas out of their head and onto the page. I actually agree with the principle of this, I just do it differently in practice

In this video, I share how I approach the rough draft stage in a way that’s more flexible, more effective and so much faster that it could save you months and several rounds of revisions.

0:00 Introduction
1:12 Why "just getting words down" can be problematic
2:21 An alternative approach...
3:27 The advantages of mind-mapping
4:23 Make editorial decisions in advance
5:35 A few quick notes