Finish the first draft
Today I started “editing” the draft that I wrote yesterday.
However, after a thirty-minute session, the draft continues to grow in word count. This is because not all the ideas that I want to use in this post are included in the draft. So, it is correct to assume that I am still at the «write the first draft» step.
Why is it important to differentiate the step of writing the draft from the step of editing it?
These two steps require different mental states1 that are not compatible with each other:
- When we write a draft, we are in the mental state of generating content.
- When we edit a draft, we are in the state of mind of refining and reducing the content.
Trying to mix both mental states is inefficient and, in my case, makes me enjoy less the overall writing process. So I’m going to continue writing until I feel like the draft is complete.
And you, how do you know that the first draft is finished and it’s time to edit?
References:
If you want to learn more about the mental states of creativity, I recommend reading “Mind Management, Not Time Management: Productivity When Creativity Matters” by David Kadavy. ↩︎
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