They’re where the magic starts
There’s an unfortunate trend toward bemoaning and denigrating first drafts. We sigh about how wretched they are. We wring our hands and commiserate. One prominent writer has called them “shitty.”
Nothing could be further from the truth.
First drafts are the clay to be worked and shaped, the first shoots to be tended and thinned and trained, the early sketches of the structure to be. Whatever your preferred metaphor.
They are necessary and beautiful for what they are. They are the sparkle about to happen, the magic about to be freed. We should celebrate them. Then roll up our sleeves and set to work.