Many excellent writers set goals of writing so many words a day. The idea is to get the thoughts down on the page, holes and all. For most of us, it is difficult to shape perfect pros the first time around. One needs to freely dump the thoughts out. Lewis Carroll, author of the classic, Alice in Wonderland, wrote (paraphrased): “How can I see what I think until I see what I say?”
Brilliant! Thoughts take shape when we get them out of our heads and look at them on the page. And yes, there will be holes that you can’t possibly spot until you see what you say.
A draft is just that, a draft with many holes and inconsistencies. Through very careful editing, the writer then fills in the holes and refines the story. Hemingway once said to write one needs only to open a vein and let it bleed. He meant that he placed little control over the initial result. This great author knew that once the words were written, he then had to edit them over and over again.
Nothing worth doing comes out perfectly for the first time. One does not instantly take the perfect photograph or learn to ride a bike or drive a car.
Yes, writing is magic, but it only becomes magical after hard work. Do let the story flow out, ugly and misshapen. Then work to create something meaningful.
