Letter from the Editor: Writing Crappy First Drafts

I went to two big events this week. The first wasn’t meant to be an event but wound up being one. It was an Annapolis Moms Media photoshoot for our next cover, and while I can’t talk about it yet– just know this– Issue 2 of The Motherlode is going to be BIG!

The second event was the Talent Show at my kiddos’ elementary school. I’m not gonna lie- I was not super looking forward to this event–not exactly the most relaxing way to spend a Friday night.

BUT I will say, once I was there, I was so impressed with these kids. Who among us has the guts to stand up in front of 600 strangers and sing a song? Or try stand-up comedy? Attempt a backflip?

Some kids forgot the words or dance moves. Sometimes the mics cut in and out. Some acts were rehearsed and refined; some were goofball friends just having a good time (my kid included!). But everyone got applause, encouragement, hugs, and high fives.

Writers always talk about writing crappy first drafts, the idea being that you have to start somewhere and once you have a first draft, you can keep making it better. The writer Anne Lamott says in her book Bird by Bird, “ All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.”

So when I got to thinking about why we have these events for our kids, I realized it’s not really about the “talent.” These kids are starting somewhere. They’re working on skill sets of preparing a presentation, practicing, and getting in front of a crowd.

When we left the talent show, I was feeling two things: 1- that I don’t want to hear another Taylor Swift song for a very long time and 2- a bursting pride for all the kids, that they took a chance on themselves and put such a joyful show together.

So- I asked myself and I ask you- what if grown-ups took more chances on ourselves like that? What “first draft” or first step of a scary project are we avoiding? Here are some ideas of how we can be brave like our kids:

Take the smallest step. What is the smallest possible step you can take towards the metaphorical first draft? Write/workout/craft/sing/(whatever) for just 5 minutes today. (Psst! I bet you’ll end up doing more!)
Sign up for something. Just like those brave kiddos made the choice to sign up for the talent show, what can you do to commit to your project? Sign up for a class or conference, or submit an application or proposal.
Make a list. Once you take step one, what is step two? Make a list of the steps to reach your goal so you don’t get stalled. Bonus points if you give yourself deadlines!
Enlist an “audience.” Accountability to others is key for some of us. If you need to tell someone you’re doing “the thing” in order to feel like you have to do the thing, then say to your partner/friend/sibling, etc., “Hey I’m going to write a crappy first draft of my sci-fi novel. I’m going to write for an hour every Thursday, and I want you to ask me in a month how many pages I have done.”

Speaking of accountability… I promise to do at least one of these this week- will you join me?