Writing Your First Draft Is Easy, Here's How You Do It
We don't need to overcomplicate things, this is what I do
Did you know that writing a book doesn’t have to be hard?
Traditional publishing and stories of the authors of old have ruined us for writing our books and getting them published.
Whenever we think of writing our books, we think they have to be an arduous process that takes forever, and then in our final hour, we get the work done.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
I believe that writing a book should be easy. And that the hard part is cleaning it up to be worth reading.
Today, I want to share my simple three-step system for writing your first draft so you can get it done and move on toward publishing books.
Write Your First Draft with the MOW Process
Now, there are three main steps to writing your first draft. They are simple, but they are essential for success. So, let’s dive into them.
Mindmapping
You need to mind map your ideas. This means starting with the book’s central topic and breaking it into smaller subtopics. This will help you come up with your chapters and different sections.
You should only take 30 to 45 minutes to do this. The idea is to put everything that comes to mind on paper. I suggest using a full sheet of paper or two taped together along the 11-inch side.
Outlining
Once you have completed this, you can create your initial outline. This takes your subtopics and puts them in an order that would make sense for your content.
It’s okay if it isn’t perfect. You might rearrange in editing. The key is to get things in order so you can think more linearly about the topic and quickly move from one chapter to the next.
Writing
This is essential. You need to set yourself up to finish one chapter at a time so that you can write the best chapter possible.
I have heard many writers talk about jumping around in their books. However, I don’t suggest this for the first-time writer or someone who has only written one or two books.
Here is what you should do for each chapter: Start with your main topic. Outline it into three sections. And each one of those sections has three supporting points.
This formula will help you get through each chapter super fast because it forces you to get rid of extra stuff and allows you to move through each part of the chapter quickly.
Complete the MOW and Write Your First Draft
Once you have written everything through the book, this is where you do a quick clean-up of format and glaring edits. This helps you to read and prepare to share your book with an editor.
I typically go through and do glaring edits first. These will stick out to you while you read through it for the first time as one completed book.
Next, I take that first read-through and clean up the formatting. This way it will be broken down into the sections within the chapters. If there are quotes, I indent them—basic things.
At this point, you have a complete manuscript. This is a point to celebrate and to prepare for the next steps of writing AND publishing a book. But there is one more thing you should do.
I print out every first draft on paper. There is nothing like holding the manuscript in my hand. And I have kept all of them to remind myself where things start.
What are you waiting for? Get to work!
J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Christian Author on Amazon who writes about faith, family, and writing books. Join his Substack community and learn more about self-publishing and faith today!
Grab his fantastic writing and self-publishing resources on Gumroad today!
Also, if you are looking for more ideas on how to write a book, I have outlined in my most recent book on Amazon how to take your Substack stories and turn them into books. Grab your copy today:
Mostly you are talking about a non-fiction book, correct?