Karen Brown Tyson

Tag: #book

What Should be in Your First Draft? 9 Easy Writing Tips
Photo by Rey Anthony Cuerquis

Writing your first draft can be a very daunting experience. It can feel like you need to get it perfect or your work is not good. Trust me; we’ve all been there. However, your first draft only needs to be that– a first draft. It is something to build and work on; no pressure is needed.

Before you start writing, your first question might be, “How do I write the first draft of a book?” To answer this question, I suggest creating SMART goals.

Your next question might be, “What do I include in my first draft?” This post outlines everything you need to include in your book’s first draft for fiction and nonfiction.

Read on for more.

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

What to include in a first draft: fiction

Fiction writers have plenty of freedom when it comes to their first draft. There is no limit to your imagination; you can write about whatever you choose.

However, a first draft always needs some key features to ensure you have the makings of a good story. So let’s check them out in more detail below.

In your first draft, you will need:
- Setting
- Characters
- Story structure
- Tone and theme
Setting

One of the most important parts of your story is the setting. The story’s setting is a great way to portray a theme, motif, or message you want to get across. The setting is just as important as your plot and characters in making reading your story an immersive experience for a reader.

In your first draft, you should explore your setting and make sure its role in your story is clear. You need to ask yourself:

How does the setting move the story forward?

Do the characters relate and respond to their world? If so, how?

Does the setting influence the decisions and actions of the characters?

Characters

Before you start the first draft, you likely have a vague idea of the characters who play important parts in your story. It’s important to develop your protagonist, antagonist, and side characters.

All of these characters should be rich and fleshed out. Create profiles for your characters that outlines every part of their life. Flesh these characters out and make them into people readers will like, dislike, and be interested in.

In your first draft, you have an excellent opportunity to explore each character, learning their strengths and weaknesses, how they make decisions and everything that makes them who they are. This will help you learn how to use them to make the plot move forward.

Story Structure

It is okay for your first draft to be rough, but it does need to illustrate your overall plot. It needs to have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Of course, that is not to say that you cannot change the plot in future edits. This is certainly possible, but your first draft still needs to work through the main plot as it stands clearly.

One of the best parts of a first draft is that it gives the writer a clear vision of the plot and what works and doesn’t. You will find plot holes you may not have seen while creating the plot through the writing process. It’s okay if the plot naturally changes as you write your boo.

Think of the first draft as a test drive for the overall story, and fully immerse yourself in creating that journey for the reader.

Tone And Theme

The tone of your work will take shape on its own as you write. You can try to set the tone you want initially and carry on with creative exploration until you stumble upon the tone that best fits your story. One of the most fun parts of writing is watching a story unfold before your eyes.

What to include in a first draft: nonfiction

Nonfiction works need to have clearly outlined points, messages, and facts. Let’s check out the details of what to include in your first draft of nonfiction below.

Research

A significant portion of the nonfiction writer’s work is research. Therefore, during the prewriting stage, gather as much research as possible before you try to write your first draft.

Understanding your message

Here, your first draft is about exploring what your message is and how you can best convey it. So, You don’t need to worry about writing it in chronological order; you can write whatever part of the book you want first. The most important thing here is to ensure all your points are written down and your message is coherent.

Of course, you will still need an introduction, a conclusion, etc., but you can save these for last to focus on the main bulk of the work.

One of my favorite books on how to write nonfiction is Start Writing Your Book Today by Morgan Gist Macdonald.

Bonus tips for writing your first draft

Here are some more general tips for writing your first draft.

Don’t fear failure or struggle

A good book was not written in one night with a few swishes of a pen. This means that one draft will not be enough. You may need to write many before your book is finished. This is good because it means your work is refined and you are improving as a writer. Try to enjoy the journey of writing the book. Don’t only focus on the end goal. Don’t let the fear of failure or struggle stop you from enjoying the process.

Ignore your inner critic

Your inner critic is an important voice, but not when writing your first draft. This part of the writing process is about being playful and creative exploration. So, let go of the inner critic and let your writing flow freely.

Ask for feedback

Feedback from publishers and other writers, even for your first draft, is invaluable because they will be able to help you iron out non-urgent problems and provide insight into what they think the story or message is about, who the characters are, etc. This will be useful for other drafts.

Final thoughts

Your first draft can be a daunting idea, but I hope this article provides useful insight into what to include, what to let go of, and how fun it can be to start writing your book.
September 8, 2022
Why Should You Need to Read Book Everyday

It’s no secret that the digital industry is booming. From exciting startups to global brands, companies are reaching out to digital agencies, responding to the new possibilities available. However, the industry is fast becoming overcrowded, heaving with agencies offering similar services — on the surface, at least.

Producing creative, fresh projects is the key to standing out. Unique side projects are the best place to innovate, but balancing commercially and creatively lucrative work is tricky. So, this article looks at how to make side projects work and why they’re worthwhile, drawing on lessons learned from our development of the ux ompanion app.

People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all.

Producing creative, fresh projects is the key to standing out. Unique side projects are the best place to innovate, but balancing commercially and creatively lucrative work is tricky. So, this article looks at how to make side projects work and why they’re worthwhile, drawing on lessons learned from our development of the ux ompanion app.

Why Integrate Side Projects?
Being creative within the constraints of client briefs, budgets and timelines is the norm for most agencies. However, investing in research and development as a true, creative outlet is a powerful addition. In these side projects alone, your team members can pool their expertise to create and shape their own vision — a powerful way to develop motivation, interdisciplinary skills and close relationships.

Building into the identity and culture of an agency can also lead to new client work. These projects act as a road map, showing clients exciting new technologies and ideas that will differentiate you from competitors. One of our earliest projects turned our website into a brochure, optimized for the first iPad’s touch interactions. By demonstrating the final product, we went on to win a project to create a similar product for a new client.

A significant shift in mindset is required to support either type of side project — weighing the longer-term, incremental benefits against committing what would otherwise be immediately billable time. Many agencies do this with a time-bound model of 80% client time versus 20% time, inspired by Google’s successes with Gmail and Google Reader which they have since (tellingly) phased out. I’d instead recommend the following guidelines.

January 15, 2022
How to Write a Book with Save the Cat!
Updated April 2021 —

As an author and teacher, I cannot tell you how many times I get asked, “How do you write a book?”

It’s a fair question, especially if you have dreams of becoming a writer. My answer varies depending on whether the person wants to write a nonfiction book or a novel. I even offer a free nonfiction book writing checklist and planner.

But for those wanting to write a novel, I suggest using a novel-writing guide like, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need, by Jessica Brody.

Full of insights and tips on storytelling, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need is a self-help book that offers writers a fresh perspective on how to write a novel.

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

My Introduction to Jessica Brody

Before reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, I was a fan of Jessica Brody. I first met Jessica when I took one of her courses called Productivity Hacks for Writers. As a life-long learner of all things related to productivity and how to get things done, I bought the class to see if I could add a few more weapons to my arsenal.

I did not know I would find an instant connection with Jessica. It was like finding my long-lost productivity sister—finally, someone who speaks my language of change and possibility. Girlfriend, welcome home!

So, when it came time to read Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, I was all in. I knew Jessica would offer easy-to-follow instructions into novel writing. Like her courses, Jessica’s book reads like a therapy session with your favorite writing coach. All I needed was a hot cup of ginger tea, my favorite writing notebook, and an open mind ready to follow the process.

What it Means to Save the Cat!

In the book, Jessica encourages the reader to use 15 story beats as part of a three-act story structure to write a book. The methodology comes from Blake Synder’s Save the Cat! Writes a Screenplay: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need. Synder encouraged screenwriters with unlikeable main characters to have the person “save the cat” as a way to get viewers to like the main character.

Not only does Jessica takes the reader on a journey through three acts: Act 1 – Set up your world; Act 2 – Add conflict; and Act 3 – Resolve the dispute, but she explains the 15 essential story beats along the way.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is 320 pages long. Jessica arranged the book into 15 chapters. In each chapter, she explains each beat of storytelling and helps readers explore questions about their novel ideas. The book is designed to appeal to both plotters and pantsers.

As a writer who embraces change, I was immediately drawn to the book’s message. I love the structure and guidance the book offers.

Key Lessons Learned from Save the Cat!

While the entire book is full of insights on how to structure a story, here are a few lessons I learned:

The Save the Cat Beat Sheet (Chapter 2)

Jessica acknowledges that writing a book can be a daunting task. However, the use of her beat sheet helps the reader to avoid plotting problems from the start. As a visual learner, I appreciate Jessica’s approach to seeing how my story could unfold.

Dude with a Problem (Chapter 8)

In this chapter, Jessica highlights the importance of adding ordinary characters overcoming extraordinary obstacles. She brings this point to life by examining stories like The Martian, The Firm, and The Hate U Give. Jessica’s best advice, “If you plan to write a dude with a problem story, don’t forget to add an innocent hero, a sudden event, and life-or-death battle.”

Save the Author (Chapter 15)

According to Hutchinson, since the learning process is different for everyone, learning to write a story using 15 beats could be confusing. In this case, she advises the reader to start with the Five Foundation Beats, which are:
- - Catalyst
  - Break Into 2
  - Midpoint
  - Break Into 3
  - All is Lost
The key point to remember: No matter where our novel-writing adventures take us, we can all be storytelling heroes.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need is an excellent self-help book for anyone wanting to write a novel.

Final Thoughts

To those who argue the book doesn’t provide enough instruction, I would say look again. Not only can the book be used to write a novel, but writers can use the information to revise an unpublished manuscript to ensure better flow and tighter storytelling.

As with any self-help book, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel will not write your story for you. It’s up to you to go through each chapter and work through every beat of your story.

However, I am such a firm believer that I plan to apply the structure to writing my first fiction novel scheduled for release in 2022.

If you need additional help, there are lots of Save the Cat resources available. I recently highlighted The Board, which comprises the 15 beats of the Save The Cat!® Beat Sheet.

Another valuable tool I’m using now is the Save the Cat Storytelling Webinar hosted by Jessica. The webinars feature live instruction and you can review the recording after the session.

In Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, Jessica guides the writer eager to learn how to tell great stories. Once again, Jessica has inspired me through our common language of change and possibility.

Thanks, Jessica.
April 13, 2021
How One Young Author Used Her Voice Like a ‘Big Boss’

In recent weeks, I felt it was important to focus on capturing our thoughts, survival, following our dreams, and how to write a book when you feel like quitting. Today, I am happy to present one young author who used her voice like a ‘big boss’. Haelee Moone is the author of The Rules of a Big Boss: A Book of Self-Love. Haelee talks about what it means to be a big boss and the importance of self-love. This amazing young author is 12 years old. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Enjoy!

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

Hello Haelee! Congratulations on your new book. What is your book, The Rules of a Big Boss, about, and why did you decide to write it?

The Rules of a Big Boss is my personal self-help book. It’s also for young ladies and adolescents like me. A big boss is someone who loves, takes care of, and is true to themselves. Anyone can be a big boss. The book covers topics like finding yourself, respect, and confidence. The book has exercises to help readers reflect, journal, and feel empowered.

I found myself inspired to write this book because I have always had an overwhelming desire to help others. I specifically like helping people with their self-esteem.

[bctt tweet=”Start writing your beginning, good luck in your ending, be inspired, and be your own Big Boss. Haelee Moone” username=”KBTWrites”]

When did you find time to write? Tell us about your writing process and how you went about putting the book together?

I had a lot of free time on my hands with everything being shut down due to COVID-19, so I used that free time to write. To get started, I searched for templates in Microsoft Word I could use as a model for the book. Next, I had to learn about distribution rights, copyrights, citing sources, royalties, and marketing for the book. Before I published the book, I had to choose a book cover design, size, sales price, and decide on a distributor. Finally, my dad helped me set up social media accounts and record a promo video for the book.

What made you decide to self-publish rather than looking for a traditional publishing house? What else can we expect from you?

I gave my rough draft to my dad, and he said, “Oh my God, Haelee, this is entirely too good not to share.” He asked me if I wanted to publish it. I smiled and said, ‘Yeeeaaaahhh.’ With my dad working as my editor, we published the book together. We looked into both self-publishing and traditional publishing. We decided to go with the self-publishing because it was easier and allowed me to have total creative control.

I decided to create a Rules of a Big Boss clothing and accessory line as an extension of the book. My dad had an artist design a logo for me, which allows me to become a brand.

I like the idea of my supporters and me sharing the message of self-love beyond the book.

What has this experience taught you?

By setting, meeting, and exceeding my goals, I’ve been able to taste success early. This has inspired me to strive for more while also teaching me the power of entrepreneurship.

I learn something new every day. I plan to release the second book of the ‘Big Boss’ series in 2021. In the interim, you can pick up a copy of my book on Amazon

Where can people find you online?

You can find me online here:

My website: https://www.thebookofselflove.com/

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thebookofselflove2020

Instagram at https://instagram.com/thebookofselflove2020?igshid=2bvfsqhoy40p,

Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/authorrulesofabigbossbook.

July 24, 2020
How to Write a Book When You Feel Like Quitting

For the past few weeks, we have focused on capturing our thoughts, survival, and following our dreams. Today, I am so pleased to present Joyce Shulman’s guest post on how to write a book. Joyce is the author of Walk Your Way to Better. Joyce offers advice on how we make our dreams of writing a book a reality. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Enjoy!

My cousin called me a few months ago. “I want to write a novel,” she said. She described the characters in detail and walked me through the plot. It had the potential to be a captivating story.

“Go for it,” I said. “You’re a great writer, and it sounds like a great story.”

Six weeks later, she called again. “So,” she began hesitantly. “How exactly do you write a book?” she asked. “Did you map it all out on index cards first, or do an outline or, well, how do you do it?”

“You put your butt in the chair and write,” I said. “There is no magic formula.”

Last week, another friend messaged me: “I have an idea for a book, and I’d love your opinion,” she said.

We hopped on the phone the next morning, and she described the moment when the idea for her book came to her, fully formed, while she was sitting on her back porch, sipping a cup of coffee. The idea was compelling, and I told her so. “You should write this,” I said.

“I know,” she said. “I want to, but I’m not sure I ever will,” she sighed.

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

How can you become inspired to write a book?

Someone once said that everyone has one book inside them, and I believe that’s true. Ever since I published my first book, dozens of friends have confided that writing a book has been a long-time dream.

The question is, how do you get inspired to do the work it takes to get hundreds of thousands of words on paper? How do you “find” the time? Where does the inspiration come from when you feel like quitting?

I wish I had an easy answer for you. I wish there were a magic formula.

Sadly, there’s not. Honestly, you just have to put your butt in the chair.

But four things helped me get from the dream of publishing my first book to holding it in my hands fourteen months later.

Four steps to writing a book

See the end.

While you might not know the entire story and you certainly won’t know every word, you have to be able to picture the end. You have to know where you are going and what you want to build. You must have a vision of the structure of your book, whether it is in your head or on paper. You need to know where you are going, even if you aren’t 100% sure how you will get there.

Commit to a doable daily word count.

Six hundred words a day was my minimum, and that’s not a lot. And some days, those 600 words were crap. But some days, I got on a roll, and 600 words quickly became 1,000 words that I was proud of. But whatever it is, whatever you know you can do, you need to commit. Daily.

Then get lost in the process.

Then, you need to fall in love with the process. Okay, maybe fall in love is an overstatement. Some days, the empty white page will feel overwhelming, and the writing will feel like torture. But some days, the thoughts will come, and the words will flow. Hang on for those days.

Don’t wait to find the time — you never will.

If this is something you want to do, you will need to make the time. And that might be at 5:00 a.m. That might be what you do in the evenings instead of watching This is Us. Unless you are one of those rare people who happen to have an extra hour or two in each day — and if you are, I’ve never met you — you are going to have to make the time.

A final thought. Writing a book is hard. Like, hard. Editing, formatting, publishing it is even harder. You will only get from where you sit right now to holding your book in your hands if it is something you want to do. But if it is, put your butt in the chair and get to work.

Joyce Shulman is the co-founder of Macaroni Kid, Pack Leader at 99 Walks, and author of Walk Your Way to Better. A serial entrepreneur, speaker, and confessed idea junkie, you can find her on Instagram at Joyce.r.shulman.

May 26, 2020