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Q&A In What Way are Most First Drafts Bad?

I've heard from a lot of people - both on this site and elsewhere - that your first draft will be terrible. Some even say that you will barely use any of it. This has me wondering: What about the...

3 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Thomas Myron‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T17:49:02Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/27537
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:20:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/27537
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T06:20:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
I've heard from a lot of people - both on this site and elsewhere - that your first draft will be terrible. Some even say that you will barely use any of it.

This has me wondering: **What about the first draft is so bad?**

Is it that the wording will be bad? The story won't convey the message or sound the way you want it to? Or is it that the characters won't be fleshed out enough? Maybe that the plot won't be developed, or won't be focused enough, causing it to ramble?

What exactly is bad about the first draft?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-04-14T14:29:41Z (over 7 years ago)
Original score: 16