I wasted a lot of time when I first started writing trying to make the first draft for a still-unpublished manuscript perfect. It wasn’t until I had written a few manuscripts that I learned a very valuable lesson: The first draft is not supposed to be perfect when you finish.

It’s called a draft for a reason.

As you start working on your manuscript, just let the words flow. However they come up, let them come out—spit them out. Don’t worry about finding the perfect word or phrase, fixing typos or pesky sentence structure. That stuff can be fixed later during rewrites. Right now, your goal is get everything in your head onto paper.

First drafts don’t have to be perfect. They just have to be written. —Author Unknown

What you’ll find is by not censoring yourself, nothing is being wasted. Some scenes may be cut from the project on which you are working, but save them in another file. You may be able to use them in another book later.

You may have thought the hard work was spitting the story out, but between you and me, edits and rewrites are where the truly hard work begins. Give yourself a day or two to disconnect from the manuscript—a week would be even better if you have the time—then look at the story again with a fresh eye. Now is the time to clean up your mess and make it pretty by adding descriptions, rewriting clichés, as well as fixing typos and inconsistencies. If you’re anything like me, as you’re rewriting, something may speak to you, and you might end up brainstorming a sequel on which you hadn’t planned.

Is the thought of spitting it out or cleaning up your manuscript scarier to you? Let me know in the comments.