My Favourite Writing Quote

It’s tough to pick my favourite writing quote. There are some great ones out there! “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Toni Morrison. “A word after a word after a word is power.” Margaret Atwood. “Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money.” Virginia Woolf.

I suspect there are a fair few writers who wish they could do it for the money. But I digress.

I don’t know if I could say that this quote is my absolute, above-all-others favourite. But it is one that I find particularly useful:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” Terry Pratchett.

This quote is one that I tell myself as a writer. It’s also one that I refer clients back to as an editor. I just think it’s an incredibly useful way of framing a first draft.

Conventional wisdom says that first drafts are rubbish

Now, I don’t really buy into this. Not only do I think it’s unnecessarily disheartening to tell writers that their first draft will inevitably suck, I also just don’t think it’s helpful. In my opinion, it doesn’t change your approach to a first draft in a way that’s likely to make you a better writer.

This Pratchett quote, on the other hand, feels like a much better fit for me. It gives you permission not to worry about some of the finer points of your draft. This one’s for you! Don’t stress about the rest of your potential audience.

At the same time, it doesn’t say that the first draft is for scrapping. This is where you’re doing integral figuring out. You’re test-driving your story, seeing it take shape for the first time, deciding what works and what doesn’t. You’re telling yourself the story to see how it sounds.

It reminds you to write for you

There’s time in the revising and editing process to tweak a story to suit your readers. You’re likely to end up incorporating feedback from alpha and/or beta readers, from editors, maybe from agents and publishers.

One of the things I like about this quote is the reminder that this first draft is for you. It’s your chance to just enjoy the story as it unfolds, without the pressure of other people’s preferences. And I think that’s really lovely.

This quote also helps highlight some of the typical issues in a first draft

Every writer, and every draft, is unique. Of course. But there are definitely some patterns that I see cropping up in first drafts! And when I’m trying to help them adjust these in revisions, consciously making the shift from telling the story to yourself to telling the story to readers is really helpful.

Some elements of the story are likely to have been over-explained, because the writer was working that part out for themselves as they drafted that section. Other parts are under-explained, because the writer already know what was going on and didn’t need to go into any more detail!

Characters’ personalities might need to be brought out more clearly for readers. A character who feels completely familiar to the author might well need additional help to feel fleshed-out for readers. Stakes may need clarifying, backstories expanding on and motivations explicitly communicated.

And that’s fine! That’s the whole point of a second draft, to fill in those gaps. To move from telling the story to yourself, to sharing it with your readers. That’s why this is my favourite writing quote.

What’s your favourite writing quote?

Share them in the comments, and let me know what you think of the quotes in this post!