Erin Radniecki • Book Coach

Tag: first draft

  • 3 Lessons for Writing a First Draft

    3 Lessons for Writing a First Draft

    Recently I shared an interview with a client (we’ll call her Karla), who recently finished the first draft of her novel. (Woo hoo! 🎉) If you missed that conversation, you can read it here.

    If you’re hoping to be in a similar position in 2026, here are 3 key takeaways from Karla’s interview that you should pay attention to.

    1. It takes time

    Karla has learned that it takes a lot of time to write a manuscript, even longer than she originally thought it would. What is your expected timeline to finish your draft? Do you think it’s realistic? 

    Let’s do some math. If an average novel is about 80,000 words (length is dependent on genre, but this is a nice round number to work with), and there are around 250 words on a double spaced manuscript page, you’ll be writing about 320 pages to complete your draft. 

    Now, how many pages can you realistically write in a week or month? Not during November, when some people are burning the candle at both ends trying to write 50,000 words. 

    In a typical month, where you’re dealing with life and work, how many pages can you complete? 

    There’s no right answer here, and certainly no judgement! Some people write fast and some write slow (that’s me!). The aim is to have realistic expectations. 

    Let’s say you can write 20 pages a month. That means you should plan to spend 16 months writing your draft. How does that number feel to you? Is it shorter or longer than you had imagined? If you want to finish your draft in less time, you might need to allocate more of your time each week to writing.

    2. Make it a routine

    Karla noticed that while it was hard to sit down and write at the beginning of the drafting process, it got easier with time. If you stay away from your draft for weeks at a time and then expect to be able to sit down and knock out a few thousand words, you might find your results are less than ideal.

    While it’s true that everyone has their own process, and I’m not here to dictate what yours should be, the sheer size of your goal means that tackling it in small, regular doses will increase your odds of success.

    Keeping a routine is especially important if you feel resistance every time you sit down to write. That resistance is your brain panicking at the enormous feat you’re attempting. 

    It’s saying, “Hold up, there are a lot of unknowns here. It’s looking a little dangerous, so let’s slowly back away from the computer and binge watch a nice, familiar Netflix drama.” 

    But with regular writing sessions, you’ll train your brain not to go into protector mode and you’ll see your word count grow.

    3. First draft ≠ Final draft

    Karla knows that when she types The End on her manuscript, she is far from done. This is an important lesson, because many writers think it’s an easy downhill coast after writing that first draft. 

    In reality, the revision process often represents more work than drafting, not less.

    If you find that thought discouraging, try looking at it this way:  You have every reason to loosen up and play while you’re drafting! 

    Knowing that most of what you write in your first draft will end up getting refreshed as you revise can help you release the death grip you have on your story, and maybe even keep that inner critic at bay.


    These three takeaways can help you achieve your goal of writing a first draft, no matter your experience level, the genre you’re writing in, or how much time you can devote to writing. 

    Writing the first draft of a novel is a big undertaking. Having realistic expectations can help you get to The End, and have more fun along the way!

  • Finishing a First Draft

    Finishing a First Draft

    This week I want to celebrate a client of mine. We’ll call her Karla. She’s been working hard on the first draft of her novel for fourteen months now, and she’s getting excitingly close to having a complete manuscript!

    As a writer on the verge of a big milestone, I wanted to get Karla’s reflections on her process so far, and share her takeaways with you.

    Karla, you’ve been working on your draft for just over a year. If you could talk to the Karla of a year ago, what would you tell her about this process?

    I would tell her that writing a first draft is a long process, and it’s okay that it’s taking longer than she thought it would, even longer than it might take other writers. Some days will be harder than others, but if you push through the writer’s block and hard days, it is rewarding to meet your weekly page goals and see how far you’ve gotten in the story. You’re also laying down the foundation of your story, so it’s fine if what you’re writing now isn’t perfect. You’re setting yourself up to build and refine what you’ve already written when you come back and do edits.

    ​

    You’re about three quarters of the way through your draft. Is there anything about the process so far that has been easier than you thought it would be? Anything that has been harder?

    Easier: It’s [now] easier to sit down and write something. At first, I found it difficult to find the motivation to work because I saw how far I needed to go to say I’d written a first draft of something. It’s also easier to sit down because it has become a habit or a routine to work on it throughout the week.

    Harder: I still struggle with writing transitions between the scenes I planned out for my outline even though I’ve been writing for over a year. I didn’t realize how challenging it is to write a story that flows together until I had to do it myself.

    ​

    As you near the end of your draft, has your outlook on the writing process changed at all? Is it easier to find the energy or motivation to write?

    I have more respect for the people who write or work with writers. I always knew writing a book took time, but I didn’t realize how long the process actually takes until I attempted to do it myself. It is easier to find the motivation to write now. As I gray out the scenes I’ve already written in my outline, I can see the end of my story. I find it motivational to see that I’ve grayed out almost all the boxes.

    ​

    If someone is about to start drafting their novel, or is in the drafting process and is struggling, what advice would you give them?

    Don’t compare yourselves to other writers. Everyone has a different writing process and writing speed. If you write more slowly than the people you see online, or you don’t have as much time to write, that’s okay. Take it one scene or page at a time, your story will come out in its own time, and people will be excited to read it whenever it’s ready. If you’re stuck during a scene, take a break and do something else for a bit. I’ve found that when I’m stuck on something, I’ll go on a walk or do something around my house. Most of the time while I’m doing something else, I’ll think of an idea of what I can include to help me get unstuck.

    ​

    Once your draft is finished, what do you think your next steps for your novel will be?

    I’m going to finish making the corrections you recommended as my book coach. Once I’m done with that, I’m going to find an editor to work with to polish up my story.

    ​

    I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to support Karla through her drafting process with submission deadlines and feedback on her pages.

    If you’re writing a first draft, and especially if you’ve been frustrated with how long the process is taking, I hope that hearing Karla’s experience provides some reassurance that you will get to type The End. Just keep taking small, steady steps toward your goal. It may not be flashy, but as you can see, it works.

  • Is Research Helping or Hurting Your Novel?

    Is Research Helping or Hurting Your Novel?

    On my bookshelf sits a 763 page book on the history of Great Britain in the 1930s.

    That’s a thick book.

    I bought it years ago in preparation for writing a novel. I felt I needed this background information in order to write an accurate story.

    Did I mention I was writing historical fantasy for 10 year olds?

    When it comes to research for our novels, our brains can convince us we must know All. The. Things. We have to be prepared. We must be experts on our topic, or else risk being called out as a fraud.

    Or course this leads to research overwhelm, paralysis, and thoughts of ‘who am I to write this book?’ If you’re not careful you’ll find yourself awake at 1:00am researching advanced degrees in obscure histories.

    But there’s a solution to research overkill: wait until you’ve written your first draft.

    Here’s another revelation about my novel. I thought it was going to include lots of electricity. As in, the villain was going to harness electricity to carry out his evil plan. I spent time researching electricity and municipal electrical systems, thinking about how it might be used, and ultimately… not using electricity at all.

    I finished the first draft of my novel two weeks ago, and instead of 1930s history and electricity, it turns out I need to research canals and locks instead. Who knew?!

    And that’s the point. There was no way I could have known that at the beginning of the writing process.

    Most of the research I did beforehand turned out to be unhelpful for writing my novel. But now that I have a completed draft, and I understand where the gaps in my knowledge are, I can strategically research only what will be useful.

    I understand the urge to do loads of research before you begin writing. It feels like necessary preparation, like due diligence. But until you know specifically what information will be useful to you, it is easy to get lost down the rabbit hole of knowledge.

    Rather than compile pages of notes and then try to craft a story around that information, we need to create a story that works and then fit our research to match.

    If you feel you absolutely must research before you begin writing your novel, here are some ways to keep it from getting out of hand:

    Acknowledge that you know more about your subject than you realize.

    Because you do know a lot already. You’ve read a book or article, learned a tidbit on Jeopardy, picked up information here and there because you are a curious person.

    Do some ‘soft’ research.

    Watch a movie, such as a period drama set in the time and place you’ll be writing about. Don’t take a lot of notes, just observe. Let it confirm what you already know, and plant some curiosity seeds to look into later. (Like, later later.)

    Trust your ability to pivot.

    If you make a few assumptions and they turn out to be wrong, trust that you can massage your manuscript during revision so that the story still works.

    Changing your perspective on research can help you stop preparing and start writing your novel. Because your goal is to have a finished book, not to be an expert in hairstyles of the 1750s.