“Show me someone who can write and edit at the same time, and I’ll show you a slow writer.”
I use this mantra a lot when encouraging people who find themselves feeling stuck in their writing. There are a lot of reasons someone tries to write and edit at the same time. Some of them are justified, like the need to quickly churn out a short piece of writing that is ready to go (a social media post comes to mind). In those circumstances, we don’t have time to draft and draft again.
But in most cases, there’s no need to write and edit at the same time. The result is what we must rightfully call a “draft,” an unfinished, unpolished version that will become—through editing, rewrites, cuts, and additions—our final product.
How does the word “draft” strike you? For me, it conjures up memories of writing assignments in high school and college where we needed to turn in a “first draft” for critique. The process of revision is valuable, but I always felt like the instructor was merely doubling the amount of work I had to do. Why couldn’t I turn in my final version? How drafty could the draft be? If I was graded on my ability to address critiques, should I turn in a worse first version?
Anticipating those criticisms and writing out of the classroom and in the workplace where stakes are higher, and suddenly the idea of producing a draft starts to feel irresponsible. Who has time for a draft? Will I look bad if I send along a non-final version? All these questions are stressful, and that stress doesn’t help figure out the best path forward.
Here’s my answer to resolve the draft dilemma: Embrace the power of the draft.
How do you do that? First, at the most technical level, add a watermark to your word processing document that says “DRAFT” across every page. This is practical and can stop you from sending out something that hasn’t been finalized. (And if something in draft stage does accidentally get sent out, it’s a reminder to the reader that it is still a draft.)
Second, call things draft so that you emphasize to others that you want their feedback. A draft is something that is meant to be edited! If a draft is off to a colleague, mentor, boss, subordinate, etc., it’s an invitation for their contributions. That’s powerful!
Third, take the attitude of your readers and embrace it yourself! You didn’t produce a final version—you produced a draft! What’s a draft if not something you expect to be changed, something you want to change? It makes changes, when they come in, easier to accept and manage.
Last, consider our starting mantra—A fast writer is someone who writes first, edits later. A draft gives you the freedom to focus on getting down words now, and getting the right words later.
Of course, there’s a lot more to this attitude piece, and we will explore other attitudes about perfectionism in writing. As a step to take right now, embrace the draft and the creative freedom and openness it provides.
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