Turn Your Dream Into Reality: Complete Your First Draft This Year!

Becoming A Writer

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Turn Your Dream Into Reality: Complete Your First Draft This Year!

Episode 35 of Becoming A Writer podcast.

Rubina Gauri Gomes

Mar 08, 2025

Transcript

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Show Notes -

Episode Summary: In this episode, we discuss how to overcome the fear and uncertainty of writing a first draft and turn your dream of completing a book into reality. Using a combination of creativity and logical planning, you can create a writing routine that works for you and ensures steady progress. Whether you're a discovery writer or an outliner, you'll learn how to trust the process, stay consistent, and finish your first draft this year.

Key Points Discussed:

Embracing Uncertainty in Writing: Writing is like driving at night—you only need to see a little ahead to reach your destination.
The Shitty First Draft: First drafts are messy, and that’s okay! Treat it as a way to familiarize yourself with your story or idea.
Managing Writing Fears: Your brain craves certainty, but writing requires embracing the unknown and pushing forward despite the discomfort.
Using Logic to Support Creativity: The logical brain can help the creative brain by setting realistic goals and structuring writing sessions.
Step 1: Figure Out Your Writing Output: Identify how many days and hours you can dedicate to writing and set a manageable daily writing goal.
Step 2: Establish a Production Goal: Based on your writing output, calculate how long it will take to finish your draft and set a deadline.
Step 3: Plan to Win Every Writing Session:
- Remove distractions and keep writing tools handy.
- Focus on one scene at a time.
- Use the Pomodoro technique for focused writing.
- Overcome missing details by leaving placeholders.
- Track your progress for motivation.
- Reframe writer’s block as a challenge rather than a roadblock.
- Separate writing and editing to maintain creative flow.
Step 4: Cross the Finish Line: Pushing through the final stretch builds confidence, reinforces your identity as a writer, and sets the foundation for revisions and future projects.

Takeaways:

Writing a first draft is about progress, not perfection.
Planning and consistency help overcome fear and writer’s block.
Writing one page a day can lead to a completed draft sooner than you think.
Trust your writing process.
Crossing the finish line is about persistence—finishing your draft transforms you from an aspiring writer into an accomplished one.

Transcript -

Podcast Intro -

Welcome to Becoming A Writer podcast, where writing inspiration is served fresh in 20 minutes or less, every 2nd and 4th Saturday.

I am Rubina Gauri Gomes, and together we'll learn how to explore, experiment with, and express our writer selves.

If this speaks to your writing journey, give the podcast a listen! If you enjoy it, I'd love for you to leave a review so others can find it, too. Don’t forget to share your suggestions or questions through the form in the show notes, and let’s grow this community together!

You can find more conversations like this and download your free Writer's Mental Toolbox PDF at rubinagomes.substack.com.

Now, grab a cup of your favourite drink, and let's have a quick chat.

Episode -

Hello, my writer friends! Rubina here.

I hope March started on a good note for you. We've got to try and make the most of it.

Today, for our thirty-fifth conversation, we are going to discuss the steps we need to take to make sure we actually write and finish the first draft of our book in this new year.

Early in my writing journey, I came across a quote about writing that has been my favourite ever since. It was by American novelist, E.L.Doctorow, and he said,

"Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

I love this quote because it describes exactly how Writing feels to me. There is uncertainty about what lies ahead, but there is also the surety that I'll make it through.

With time, you will become familiar with your writing process and, therefore, won't feel scared or insecure that much. But during the first draft, you will think you're on shaky grounds.

I say you will think because that's how your brain will make you believe. Our conscious brain doesn't like not knowing what's going on in our lives or our writing. It thrives on certainty, on knowing exactly all the steps involved and what the reward is.

But that rarely works in life, let alone writing. It's in the unknown, looking for the way while believing we’ll make it to the other side, where we learn and grow.

We put too much pressure on our first drafts to be perfect and fully formed. It's like asking a baby who has just learnt to walk to do a full ballet performance of the Black Swan.

The Shitty First Draft.

Whether you plot and outline or follow the invisible thread, your first draft is about getting acquainted with your idea (in the case of nonfiction writing) or your plot and characters (in the case of fiction writing).

I am sure you have heard, and maybe also experienced, that first drafts are shitty. Well, obviously, it will be - you are meeting each other for the first time. You don't know if your book is worth the time and heart investment, and your book is still deciding if you have what it takes. You both are suspicious of each other. You both will have your guards up. So inevitably, you'll be hesitant with each other.

You and the first draft of your book will be intimidated by each other. Not because you two are intimidating, but simply because you don't know each other well enough to trust it, making it hard to open up about your thoughts, desires and vulnerabilities.

When you are engaging with your first draft, you have to trust yourself and the book. Don't overthink it. Don't get overwhelmed. Accept that the first try will be messy, and know you can clean it up later. Being kind to yourself is important if you wish to finish the first draft. Set simple and manageable goals that help you stay consistent and keep the writing momentum going. In this phase of your writing process, you are writing for yourself, so tell yourself the story you want to tell without worrying about what others want to hear or how they will receive it. Finishing the first draft, however messy, is the only aim you should have right now; you'll get time later to get yourself anxious about the other steps in the writing process.

Use Your Logic Brain To Help Your Creative Brain.

With you freaking out about the first draft, the creative brain is frantically running around with its head on fire. We need to calm it down. We need to provide it with stability, safety and a plan of action. This is where your logic brain comes in.

The creative brain is imaginative and fluid, and the logic brain is practical—use your practicality to create a safe space for your imagination and fluidity.

Step 1: Figure out your writing output.

Even before you figure out what you're going to write or how you will go about it, it's better to figure out how much you will be able to write on a given day.

Sit down with your calendar. Mark out everything: tasks, errands, meetings, responsibilities, birthdays, weekends, ladies - your menstrual cycle - anything and everything you know will happen in the week and month that could come in between you and your writing.

This will leave you with the actual number of days you could use for your writing.

Next, sit with your daily planner. Mark out all the hours of the day you have to dedicate to personal, professional and miscellaneous commitments. Don't forget to include time for personal and home hygiene, meals, commute, family and friends time, and me time.

This will leave you with the actual number of hours you have in the day that you could possibly use for writing.

Next, figure out how much you can write in a day. If you're a novice writer, go for a page a day. That'll be low and challenging enough for you. You could also go for how much time you can spend on writing. For me, 2 hours a day, 3-4 days a week, is the minimum I can pull off, so this becomes my baseline. Be it word count or time spent writing, figure out your minimum daily writing output.

Step 2: Figure out your production goal.

With the results of step 1, you can now figure out your production goal.

Let's say, in the case of writing the first draft of your novel, you figure out you can write during the weekends and end up with 500 words per day for your 50k word count novel. This means it'll take you 100 days to finish the draft. Based on today's date (8th March 2025), you can hope to finish your first draft by 15th Feb 2026. Add to that at least another month as a buffer because life will inevitably happen. So, 29th March 2026 is your first draft's due date.

Figuring out steps one and two helps you get a realistic picture of your writing production.

Step 3: Plan to win every writing session.

So far, we know how many days in the month and how many hours in the day we have for our writing. We also know how many words we can write or how much time we can spend on each writing session. We also have a potential deadline for our project.

Now we have to set the plan for each writing session in such a way that it is easy to win. This step has a lot of moving parts, so buckle in.

Remove distractions and keep your tools handy.

This is a no-brainer. We have to create a writing space free of clutter, distractions, and disturbances. Turn off your phone, lock yourself in the room, put on headphones, pull out the internet plug, schedule your Amazon deliveries after your session is over—do whatever it takes to remove what you know will definitely hinder your writing session.

Also, to make sure you make the most of your writing session, have all the tools you need handy. Charge your devices. Keep your notes and pens close. If you have digital notes, keep a printout version as well - don't rely on software apps to always work when you want them to. Have a bottle of water on the desk and other things you know you need for your writing.

You want everything that supports your writing session within arm's distance and the rest away from you.

Take a small bite at it.

Writing the first draft of your novel can feel overwhelming. So, make it less overwhelming by tackling it a small bite at a time.

Instead of worrying about the whole novel and the potential deadline, when you write your book, focus only on the scene at hand.

Be present with the task you have in hand. Going ahead of yourself will do nothing except stress you out. Enjoy what you're writing at that moment, and it'll fly by smoothly. Then, you can work on the next small bite.

Pomodoro your way through.

One technique I have found very helpful in having a productive writing session is the Pomodoro technique. Set a timer for 25 minutes and write until it rings. Then, take a 5-minute break and come back to it.

A caveat for the 5-minute break - during that time, you must get up from your seat, stretch your back, walk around a bit but not too far away from your desk, relax your eyes, and sip some water. What you are not allowed to do is scroll your phone, read or watch anything, take care of some minute errand, or talk to others. You can use this time to think about what you'll write next; engage in no other activity, or you'll break the flow state of your writing.

Power through lack of information.

There will be times during the first draft when you won't know the name of the character. Or, at that moment, you don't know how to describe the scene's location. Or, there may be some point that needs clarification. Don't stop writing when you hit such obstacles. Simply note in brackets what needs to be done and move on. I'll assign 'X' when I can't come up with a name. Or if my character is having a drink, and I don't know anything about it because I am a teetotaler, I'll simply put in brackets 'Ask Google.' Once done with the first draft, I can revisit these sections and fill in the blanks.

Track your progress.

It could be word count, hours spent writing, or, as I do, a simple cross on the calendar to mark that I wrote today. You could also add details like how your session went and what you hope to write next time. Tracking your progress is not about seeing how far away you are from the finish line but about seeing how far you have come. Seeing the momentum and the progress will give you the boost to keep going.

Reframe writer's block.

You will inevitably face moments where you are not able to write any further. This situation is usually referred to as the dreaded writer's block. But the thing is, it's not as dreadful as you think.

A writer's block could mean that you need to research more. It could mean that you can't see at the moment where the characters are going. It could mean you have drawn too much from the inner creative well, and it needs a refill. Or it could simply mean you are done for the day and need rest.

Don't give writer's block the pompous attention it demands. Writer's block only happens when we intellectualise our writing process. Treat it like a puzzle. Approach the problem playfully, experimenting with different ideas until something clicks.

Separate Writing and Editing.

Never ever write and edit at the same time. Writing requires the creative side of your brain, while editing requires the logical side. Trying to switch between the two at the same will result in the loss of energy, time, sense and clarity. And the editing brain will make you think you have no clue what you're writing, therefore shutting your creative brain for good. Write freely during the drafting sessions, knowing you’ll have time to polish later.

Step 4: Cross the finish line.

By letting the logical brain handle planning, structure, and discipline, the creative brain can focus entirely on writing. Together, they will form a powerful team to finish the first draft in a fun and quick way.

Writing just a page a day or a couple of hours a day may not look very promising or productive. But if you keep at it, you'll start to solidify yourself as a writer. You will gain the self-confidence and motivation to keep going. And then the one-page-a-day will eventually compound into a finished first draft.

And that's how you finish your first draft in this new year!

What are your thoughts on this? Where in the drafting phase do you get stuck the most, and how do you think we can solve that problem? I’d love to hear from you in the comments on Substack and YouTube!

Well, that's it for today. Next time we meet, we'll discuss about ideas—why we lack them, how to find them, and how to keep track of them.

Until then, keep writing, my friend.

Podcast Outro -

Thank you for catching up with me today.

I hope you found some inspiration to help you grow a deeper relationship with your writer self.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to follow the podcast and drop a review! You can also share any suggestions or questions with me through the form in the show notes.

You can find more conversations like this and download your free Writer's Mental Toolbox PDF at rubinagomes.substack.com.

That’s a wrap for now! See you later!