I’m writing the first draft of a new novel, and I love it. It’s so freeing to be able to write whatever I want, leaving it to future Lexi to fix later.

But as I’ve been drafting, I’ve been thinking back to how much harder it was when I was writing the first draft of the first novel I ever wrote. It took me years to finish that draft (partially because I was trying to juggle school, a job, a social life, and writing).

Back then, I could have used some tips on how to finish a first draft. So, here’s to all the writers struggling to finish their first draft—whether it’s your first time writing a book or you’ve done it dozens of times before.

Tips for Writing a First Draft

Here are 7 tips on how to write the first draft of a book.

1. Establish a Consistent Writing Schedule

This is my biggest tip for actually finishing that draft. If you don’t write consistently, you’re never going to complete your book.

I’m not saying you have to get 2,000 words in every day. For some people, that might be what consistency looks like, but that’s not going to work for 95% of us.

You have to determine what consistency looks like for you and your life. If you can only write for two hours on Sunday mornings, that’s fine. Do that every week, and eventually, you will finish your book.

Don’t be afraid to change your plans when your schedule changes. If you’re really busy with work for a few weeks, you might need to spend your writing time taking care of other things. Taking breaks is fine, so long as you get back to writing after.

2. Set Realistic Goals

Along with consistency, setting realistic goals is super important for keeping up your motivation.

Goals are great, but here’s the truth: sometimes they can be demotivating. If you set lofty goals, like writing 2,000 words every day, but you don’t accomplish those goals, you might find yourself thinking, “Why even try?”

But goals don’t have to be like that. If you set goals that you know you can accomplish, when you accomplish them, you’ll feel great. It’s easier to keep up that kind of momentum for a long time (and perhaps some days you’ll even be motivated to do more than your goal).

The first time I got really serious about finishing the first draft of the first book I wrote, I set a goal to write 100 words a day. Some days I barely reached that goal, but most days I wrote more than that. It felt so good to hit that goal over and over again, and I finally finished that draft.

3. Remove Distractions from Your Writing Space and Time

We’ve all sat down to write, only to pick up the phone and doomscroll for an hour instead.

So put that phone across the room, turn your computer on airplane mode so you can’t access the internet, and clear your space of anything that could distract you from writing.

Protecting your writing time also means telling your family, friends, or roommates that you don’t want to be disturbed during writing time (except for emergencies, of course—make sure to clarify what counts as an emergency).

4. Trick Your Brain with Music and Atmosphere

To get yourself into writing mode, you can trick your brain by listening to the same thing while you write.

Most of the time, I can’t listen to music with lyrics while I write (except when I’m writing posts like these). But I love to listen to lo-fi, classical music, movie soundtracks, video game soundtracks, or curated playlists while I write.

Currently, I’ve been loving this immersive writing session from Abbie Emmon’s YouTube channel. It’s perfect for my new sci-fi project. She has a whole playlist of these different sessions that include 25-minute writing sprints with 5-minute breaks set to atmospheric music.

Music isn’t the only way to set the mood for writing though. You can use the same kind of lighting in your space, burn the same candle, sit in the same chair, wear the same cozy sweater, etc. Maybe you even have a pre-writing ritual during which you can think about the project you’re working on.

5. Embrace the Ugly

I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your first draft isn’t going to be good.

But don’t worry. The purpose of a first draft isn’t to be good—it’s to make the book exist.

Even if you’ve outlined every detail and followed the outline diligently, even if you’re gifted and happen to write decent first drafts, you’ll have to revise and edit your book.

So while you’re drafting, embrace the imperfections. Don’t go back and edit. Don’t worry about getting it perfect (or even good). Just get it written. Then fix it later.

6. Skip Things That Slow You Down

Sometimes while you’re drafting, you’ll come to a description of a setting that you need to find an inspiration picture for or a scene that you’re not motivated to write at that moment.

Sometimes it’s a good exercise to push through and write these things. But if you’re on a roll and stopping to research or brainstorm is going to slow you down, it’s fine to skip that thing and come back to it later.

Whenever I do this, I use brackets to remind myself of what I need to research, brainstorm, and write later. Like this:

[insert character description here]

Then I continue writing whatever comes after that.

This is a great strategy for writing sprints. You don’t want to stop during a sprint. But after the sprint is over, you can fill in whatever you need to.

7. Join the Community

Writing the first draft can be tough, but you don’t have to do it alone. The writing community is here for you.

I find it so motivating to join someone hosting live writing sprints on YouTube or Twitch, and I love watching other writers’ journeys through writing vlogs.

You can find other writers in your area through writing classes, workshops, seminars, or conferences. There’s a large online community on social media. And you can always reach out to me; I love hearing from other writers.

Conclusion

Those are my tips on how to write a first draft. Let me know if there are any others you would add in the comments. Check out more writing tips here!