Help from Hemingway
- 08
- 26
- 10
“All first drafts are shit.”
Ernest Hemingway
I am a perfectionist. Full of paralyzing pride. I like to do things well, and right. Quite often, this perfectionism serves me splendidly. There’s nothing wrong with having sky-high standards, right?
Wrong.
Particularly when it comes to writing. As I have mentioned, I am in the process of writing my second novel. And, depending on the moment, my fingers are flying fabulously or I am having a hard time. In these difficult moments, I am getting stalled and stuck and stranded. And I think I know why.
I want exquisite prose and deft dialogue to tumble out of me. I want my ideas to be crisp and spicy, full of authentic and existential bite. I want my story to take shape like a famous statue. Right away.
Ha.
Thankfully, I have a good memory. I recall Life After Yes‘s infancy. That famous first draft. It was utter and unequivocal crap, a big clumsy pile of paper riddled with inconsistencies and holes and nonsense. It was embarrassingly bad. But, you know what?
It was also a start. The start.
I shaped that pile of paper, that stream of words, into something better. And then? I shaped that something better into something even tighter. I did this over and over again, working hard, having fun, chipping away, adding, reinventing. And one day? One day, I had something that was okay. And then one day I had something that was good. And one magical day that good thing was really good. And then great. (Hey, I am biased. I wrote the thing.)
It is so helpful for me to remember this. That this writing thing is a process. It is so helpful for me to read Hemingway’s words. And I am not a fan of profanity but I make an exception here because, well, first drafts are shit. They just are. And an important and subtle distinction must be made. That distinction? First drafts are perhaps meant to be shit. This has nothing to do with experience, with rookie-dom. This is the way it should, perhaps must, be every time. Writing a first draft is an inherently messy endeavor; we are spilling shreds of self and story onto page, gathering bits of imagination and invention, collecting ingredients for what might become something wonderful.
But not yet.
So, on this fine Thursday morning, I want to thank Mr. Hemingway for his sage words and reminder to just write and write and write some more. To spew shit. The good kind. There is plenty of time to clean up later.
________________________________
- Do you agree with Hemingway that first drafts are meant to be mangled and messy things?
- Are you a perfectionist too? Does this help or hinder you more in your life?
- Do you spend more time writing or editing?
- Do you agree that there is wisdom in Hemingway’s words not just for the writer, but for the person? That, so often in life, we should just stop worrying and act and then edit the drafts of days later?
- Would you be suspicious of someone who claimed her first drafts were marvelous? (I would.)
I am very much the perfectionist, and it hinders in a lot of ways. It means that I can never be completely satisfied with “good”. It has to be “great”.
In writing, I am an “edit as I go” kind of writer, so I am not sure I ever have had a complete first draft, as it were. But then again, I just realized, that I compose most of my writing, especially for my blog, in my head, mull them over, rewrite sentences, add content.
So yeah, I guess my first drafts are shit indeed. I just edit them mentally a LOT before writing them down, and then I edit as I go.
Maybe first drafts are like life? We need to keep trying and trying at certain things because (as someone commented over at one of my favorite blogs “Starfish Envy”) “Fulfilling one’s most important desire is by no means easy or assured even with the most diligent efforts.”
PS LAY was not just great. It was Amazing. Loved it and can’t wait for your next novel. XXX
I don’t think that first drafts necessarily have to be dreadful; a lot depends on your writing style. If you’re one of those who does incredibly detailed outlines, I think the first draft of the MS itself can be pretty decent. The first draft of your outline, however, might be a little crazy! If you tend to avoid really structured, intricate outlines, then yes, I think the first draft will probably be lousy. And I don’t think that one way or the other is better; it just depends on the personality and preferred style!
Of course, in life, we don’t get a chance to go back and re-do … so while I don’t think it’s healthy to always be seeking to make everything in your life picture-perfect, it is not necessarily a bad thing to be aware that this, now, is the moment, and you aren’t going to get a chance to come back and do it differently later on!
As with all things, I guess, it all comes down to balance.
I am definitely a perfectionist, and writing has helped me to temper this tendency tremendously because so much of the process is imperfect. I collect quotes like Hemingway’s to remind me that the first draft is supposed to be like lucid dreaming, where you write straight from your subconcious and intuition and put your inner critic/reviser on the back burner. S/he can come out to correct, revise, and criticize after you are done with the first draft. I heard one person refer to this as sending your inner critic away to “critic camp” while you are writing your first draft. There are as many different ways to write as there are writers though, and part of the process is learning how you work best.
This comes at a great time – I just finished my first draft and am taking a week off so I can switch my perspective from someone who just desperately wanted to get the story out to a person who can beautifully craft said story. Thinking of the process as fun is what is going to make it a great book!
Oh this is so true. I am still hammering out the first draft of my book. And I am similarly a perfectionist, I like to edit as I got. To get it right the first time. I’m finally drilling it into my own head that what I need todo first is just to get it all on paper. Then I can add, delete, color, restructure later. There are days when I feel unproductive because it didnt come pouring out of me easily. Because I had to sit and think and trying to solve the puzzle of what comes next. Sometimes the the thinking is the hard work! And the hardest hardest work? Deleting the two pages you just wrote because, well, they’re crap. I know my draft is going to be long and I’m going to need to scrap a lot of stuff that is close to my heart. So I love your reminder that, yes, that’s how it’s supposed to be. That part of the writing is in the deleting and rewriting. First drafts are just that.. the first ones. Not final.
Thanks!
Well, I have never thought of it that way, but I suppose the first part of my own writing process is simply “spewing shit,” as Mr. Hemingway would put it. Glad to be in such good company! LOL
I recently blogged about my writing process: Perhaps you will find it of interest:
http://thewriterrevived.blogspot.com/2010/08/method-or-madness.html
Excellent read and very thought evoking. Perfection is my middle name, and yes Hemmingway’s words apply to life and rewriting our drafts is a great lesson that we should do without regret(hhmmmm).
I love Hemingway’s words on first drafts. I’m super-anal, but when the master gives me permission to purge on the first go around, I take it. Great post!
I write and write and write and then I write some more. And when I get stuck I take old posts and repost them. There is magic in the work. All we need to do is tap into that and it all flows forward.
Kurt Vonnegut says in one of his books (Breakfast of Champions? Timequake? Sorry, don’t remember) that there are two kinds of writers (paraphrasing, obviously) – those who choose their words ultra-carefully to begin with and produce perfection on the page on the first go-round, and those who spew words out and later have to sift for gems. Vonnegut puts himself in the first category. I’m (current lawyer, I like to think that makes me a professional writer) most definitely in the second. Editing, I think, is more fun than writing, and for some reason it’s the only area in my life where I enjoy practicing minimalism.
Thank you for passing those words along…
that quote can be applied to so many things in life.
I so needed this today. I am constantly editing chapters in my novel. I just need to write the shitty draft all the way through. Thanks for the reminder Aidan!
I’m reading “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lammott and she says the same thing over and over again. Currently working on my first novel, and it makes me feel so much better that the first draft is allowed to be shitty. What a relief.
Might I also add that I believe…
(a) Hemingway was a genius.
(b) LAY is really great, I loved it. (You’re not just biased, but it’s okay to be biased too.)
Hey, Aidan,
I admire you for at least doing it. I’m such a perfectionist that I’m scared to try. Really, truly, your strength lies in your ability to tackle the crap. If only for that (but, obviously, it’s not only for that) you’re inspirational.
KBM
Amen! Some of my all-time favorite writerly advice, Mr. Hemingway.
Like you, I want to do things right the first time. That trait could not contradict the writer’s life more. Ack.
I’m a perfectionist too. I doubt myself often. There are times I write my first draft, and I have very little to edit. And then there are days when I can’t come up with a good draft – which means a late post!
I wrote my first novel this past February. I wrote it in forty days. It was the only way I could do it. Take my foot off the brakes and just fly down that hill. It is no doubt largely crap, but I wouldn’t know since I haven’t looked back yet.
I love this post. It reminds me of what I already know but forget so easily. Writing is a process. It is impossible to sit down and write a perfect first draft. But when I’m writing, sometimes getting the first draft out on paper is so painful that I wish that I could just stop there. But building on your initial words–tightening the sentences, reworking certain scenarios and character development–all of that painstakingly careful work is what makes the finished product that much better for the reader. And I just finished Life After Yes this morning and let me tell you, all your work paid off. I loved it. It made me laugh and cry and more importantly it made me think. You have beautiful words and I’m so glad that you aren’t afraid to take the time to draft and redraft, to work and rework your beautiful words until they are just perfect.