Learning to Fast Draft

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

I've written about freewriting and how it can be a useful warmup tool. Similar to freewriting is fast drafting, a writing technique where you focus on finishing the first draft of your story as quickly as possible.

Not too long ago, I read My Secret to Finishing a First Draft, by Megan Beth Davies. It's a great post, and you should check it out. I commented on the post that I wished I could fast draft, but every time I try, my brain goes blank (similar to what happens to me when I try freewriting and I'm out of practice).

But! I felt inspired to try again because for the past month, I have struggled with writing. I look at THE FICTION DEALER's micro fiction prompts and then stare at a blank page, or I come up with a really cool premise and only get about 150 words down before I stall out. So frustrating!

So I sat down at my laptop over the weekend and decided to write a queer horror story about witches and focus on creating momentum. What did this entail?

• Not stopping to read what I had already written,

• Not stopping to correct/revise/edit, and

• Not stopping to brainstorm when I came up against a detail I didn't know; instead, I wrote a Google Docs comment whenever I needed to go back to something.

I got 2,400 words down in one session! It felt so good.

I also ended up with the beginnings of a story that was not a horror story, and not about witches, but a sapphic coming-of-age tale set in a church summer camp, partially based on my experiences at a conservative church camp one summer.

Can't wait to share it!

Have you given fast drafting a try? If not, what's stopping you?

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