Your First Draft Will Be Ugly

By Celeste Cox

Being the exception is tempting.

When people tell you your first draft will be ugly, you might nod while internally thinking, NOT MINE. Mine will be the exception.

Maybe it will be.

But here’s the thing. These people aren’t just random strangers on the street. Here are some of the people telling you your first draft will be ugly: 

And they all kind of know what they’re talking about.

I know, I know. But you want to be the exception. You want to go your own way. That’s great. Power to ya!

But here’s a crazy idea: Try it.

Try writing ugly. I guarantee that you will write faster, you will write more, and therefore you will get in a whole lot more practice. You will then become better, and eventually your first drafts will be the exception. Your first drafts won’t be quite as ugly anymore.

Point is, you’re a writer. You need to write.

I recently attended an ANWA writing retreat. In two and a half days I wrote 24,823 words. I even won a nifty prize. I was shocked. I never imagined that to be possible. For someone else—anyone else—yes. But for me? And here’s the kicker. Around 20,000 of those words won’t be in my novel. Another novel, or short story? Maybe.

I know you might be thinking, what a waste then. It's tempting to think that way, to turn it into a defeat, but all of that writing was practice. Practice I had no idea I desperately needed. 

It was around those 20,000 words that I finally found my character’s voice. I found my writing style and now writing is fun again. It’s not painful knowing the words are ugly. It’s almost exciting knowing that I’m a rebel against my inner critic and that I’m writing despite the ugliness. I’m writing!

It'll kind of felt like jumping off the high dive for the first time in slow motion: your stomach in knots as you wait in line; staring at your toes and the ground, anything but the actual high dive; the climb to the top; inching your way to the edge; feeling it wobble beneath you; the thought of turning back blaring in your mind; letting yourself fall and the adrenaline rush as you plunge into the cool water; the overwhelming desire to jump again and again. 

Once you get past the editor in you, you won't remember why it was terrifying or why your fears kept you from doing something so rewarding. You love writing. Bad or good, writing is an adrenaline rush all its own.  

If you spend 75% of your writing time editing, you’re an editor. 

Write, create, then edit.

Be a rebel against your inner critic. Write. Write ugly. Write good. Write gibberish. Write that ugly first draft.

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The Biggest Lie Mom Writers Tell Themselves

You're a mom. Sometimes it feels like you don't have time for anything. And how can you? How can you write when you have a to-do list longer than the Great Wall of China? If you had free time, you'd write. Right?

But you do.

I used to tell myself this because to me, writing used to mean sitting down for hours at a time letting inspiration flow through me in an almost ceremonial way. That was before I became a mom. Before I spent most of my days with cuddle fights, cleaning dishes, floors, cuts, scrapes, reading tiny books over and over. I love my busy kiddo filled days because I love being a mom, but somehow I got it into my head that that meant I simply didn't have time to write anymore.

But I did.

I'm in a Facebook group for eating healthy and a woman posted that she just didn't have enough time to make a healthy meal every single day and she felt it was impossible to eat healthy if she didn't have the time. The advice she got was pretty standard: Make a meal plan, Follow easier recipes, etc. And then I saw this suggestion that changed my life:

Put your healthy food in front of you. Get a veggie platter, fruit, or a healthy snack out of the fridge and on the counter throughout the day. That way if you don't always eat a healthy meal, at least you are eating healthy snacks.

Genius! I thought. But ahem, let me stop for a second to address that you might be thinking eating vegetables is what changed my life. Well, yes, but no. That is not the Happily Ever After I'm heading towards. It's how I used that advice that made me realize I do have time to write.

When you're going throughout your day how many times does an idea pop into your head? And how many times does a dialogue scene play out, or a plot idea? And how many times do you just let it slosh around in your brain until you forget?

The thought of opening up your laptop to write out the entire scene might not be an option. But it's not your only option!

A successful writing session doesn't have to be hours of zoning out. Just like the idea of putting vegetables in front of you to eat healthier, put writing in front of you. Make it easier to quickly jot your ideas down.

• Get a thought journal that has a pen attached to it so you're never frantically searching for one. Keep it somewhere you won't lose it and that the kids can't reach it. AND NOT IN SOME DRAWER. Somewhere you'll see it. 
  

• Use your phone. I use Google Keep because then I can access what I've written from my computer. I'd advise not to use an app that has way more cool features, because really, you just want to open it up, and get your thoughts on there before you've got a clean up on isle the kid'(s)' room. 
  
• Get a white board and hang it on the wall. Write down your thoughts there. If you don't want your whole family seeing it, or if it gets too full, take a pic with your phone and erase. And if you really don't want to miss an idea there's this, 
  
  
  
• Surround yourself with what will inspire you to write. There's no rule that says you can only keep your writing stuff in your writing nook. An awesome quote on the living room wall might just look good. Gasp. And even in the kitchen! It doesn't even have to be a quote. It could be a painting or photograph that makes you feel like a writer. 
  

• MAKE SOME TIME. There's nothing wrong with taking time for yourself. You work hard. You deserve it. And you will be happier and better for it. But as tempting as just zoning out and watching TV sounds, don't do it. Ok, you can watch some TV. I'll be the first to admit I like my shows and I'm not ashamed, but don't give all of the time you've made for yourself to TV. 
  

• Call yourself a writer. You can surround yourself with the idea that you're a writer but you have got to believe it. No, you probably aren't spending hours and hours writing unless you go to the occasional retreat, but writing is writing. No matter how unconventional your way of doing it is. 

• Something is better than nothing. If you think what you're jotting down is pointless, it's not. This is J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix on one piece of paper. 

So just do it. If this is your writing zone,

own it. 

Time to Wrise—Now More than Ever

(see what I did there in the title? Right is to Write as Rise is to Wrise. Okay, maybe not that clever but I’ll let it stand.)

By Jewel Leann Williams

I’ve spoken before about why what we write matters. I’d like to expand on that a little bit, based on what I heard at General Conference this past weekend. 

I’m referring to President Russell M. Nelson’s talk, where he referenced the 1979 prophecy given by Spencer W. Kimball to the women of the Church:

Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world (in whom there is often such an inner sense of spirituality) will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world.

President Nelson added:

“The day that President Kimball foresaw, is today. You are the women that he foresaw. Your virtue, light, love, knowledge, courage, character, faith, and righteous lives will draw good women of the world along with their families to the church in unprecedented numbers.”

I wasn’t surprised that President Nelson said what he did. I do want to emphasize it, though:

You are the women that he foresaw.

Let’s keep that in mind while I point out a few more things President Nelson said:

Sisters, do you realize the breadth and scope of your influence when you speak those things that come to your heart and mind when directed by the Spirit?

Step forward, take your rightful and needful place in your home, in your community, and in the kingdom of God, more than you ever have before. I plead with you to fulfill President Kimball’s prophecy, and I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ, that as you do so, the Holy Ghost will magnify your influence in an unprecedented way.

(Keep in mind, I’m typing these statements out from the video of President Nelson’s talk, since it’s not out in text format yet, so punctuation and all that might be different.)

We are being called out.

Again, I might add.

We—the sisters of the Church, and specifically those of us who express ourselves in the public forum, are being asked again, as we have been before, to step up, to show ourselves to the world, and to let them see how we are distinct and different in happy ways.

Remember this challenge from Elder M. Russell Ballard?

 “You have a great opportunity to be a powerful force for good in the Church and in the world. There is truth in the old adage that the pen is mightier than the sword…. May I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration.” (M. Russell Ballard, “Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet,” Ensign, July 2008)

Those of us who were given the desire and ability to put pen to paper, fingers to keys, or to express ourselves via other mediums, were given those talents by our Heavenly Father to bless the lives of those around us.

ALL OF THESE ARE MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

Satan is so clever, and he also has a way with words. He can flatter and deceive and the things he tells us sound so good. We’ve all felt that in our lives. Magnify it by millions and you have the sophistries and the philosophies of men that we must defend against.

Darkness is out there.  We can be—we must be—a light.

I’m not saying we have to write “churchy” stuff all day long, we don’t need to stand and preach and proselytize. 

Truth and light can shine through in what we write, even if we’re writing a sci-fi or a vampire mermaid historical romance. We can tackle tough issues, but give hope.

We stand as witnesses of God, at all times, and in all things, and in all places—right?

It’s a reason to put ourselves out there. Writing from the soul is scary. Letting people see what we write, terrifying. But remember the promises.

We can be as distinct and different as can be, but if no one sees, who does it help?

We can receive whispers and sometimes shouts from the Spirit, and those things can enrich our lives, but the time for quietly keeping our testimonies to ourselves is over. The Lord needs US to stand and shout our testimonies from the rooftops, so to speak.

It doesn’t matter if it hits the New York Times (or Amazon) bestseller’s list—it needs to be out where people can see it. Remember our promises.

Can I challenge each of us, (like, especially ME) to find a way to take a little kernel of light and truth, and put it out there for the world to see? A blog entry, a Facebook post, or, since this site is primarily for writers, how about a poem, a short story, or a novel?

The President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ made us a promise. Here it is again, and I’ll let him close out what I’m trying to say:

Step forward, take your rightful and needful place in your home, in your community, and in the kingdom of God, more than you ever have before. I plead with you to fulfill President Kimball’s prophecy, and I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ, that as you do so, the Holy Ghost will magnify your influence in an unprecedented way. 

Words

“I have hated words, and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” That is from The Book Thief. I have had this thought many times in my writing. I have also had this thought in life in general. Words can really be everything to someone. I’m not sure if you have seen this video going around Facebook, but I cried when I saw it.

We all have had our moments when we didn’t really believe we had worth. Where we didn’t think anyone cared, but it’s not true. As women we need to support each other and be there for each other always. I loved how that was the theme of last night’s General Women’s Conference.

I loved how Sister Oscarson, the General Young Women’s President quoted Marjory Hinckley. “Sisters, we are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how we need each other. Thos of us who are old need you who are young. And, hopefully, you who are young need some of us who are old. It is a sociological fact that women need women. We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance. We need to renew our faith every day. We need to lock arms and help build the kingdom so that it will roll forth and fill the whole earth.”

Think of what we can do if we support each other. Think of what we can do with words. Think of what our words as writers can do for many people. We can encourage, inspire, support, make someone laugh, cry, and be able to keep moving on. I loved what Sister Wixom told of the 90 year old woman who said, “If rewriting life, I would not include some chapters. I would like to live a little longer to see how it ends.” I think it is true in all of our lives. There are definitely parts we would like to leave out, but those hard times, with the support of others is what gets us to the end.

In the movie Saving Mr. Banks, Walt Disney said, “George Banks and all he stands for will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination, because that’s what we storytellers do. We instill hope again and again and again.” Writing for me is peaceful, it’s my therapy and medicine. If I can help one person with my words then I have done my part.

      Be the words that saves someone. Make a difference in another woman’s life. Support each other in our failures and success. Henry B. Eyring said, “He sees the glorious potential in all of his daughters. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.”