First Draft Manifesto: Step Off the Cliff

Writing is not for the squeamish of heart. The sissies. Those who cry like a little girl because of a slanted cross-eyed look. Before you even think about writing a first draft, you need to run over to Target and purchase yourself a pair of big kid undies
. . . which brings up the next point in our manifesto.

Principle #2: Step Off the Cliff

BE BRAVE
There's a certain amount of bravado involved in penning a first draft. How much? Gobs. No, really. I measured. It takes guts to expose the story in your head for all the world to see, but there's no need to hyperventilate. The beauty of a first draft is that no one but yourself need see it. So go ahead. Take a deep breath. Then expel every crazy word idea swirling around in your skull.

TAKE CHANCES
Since no one else needs to ever see this prototype of a story, why not go rogue? Allow your characters to take risks with their actions. Snark up the dialogue, letting it shoot off into conversations you never dreamed possible. Give your plot permission to take a sharp left turn or even mow down into the ditch for some off-roading.

FREEFALL
Your writing will never change or grow if you don't vary the way you write. If you usually write in third person, do a scene in first, just for the heck of it. You don't have to keep it that way, but in the exercise, you might find a new perspective in which to stage that scene. Flail around a bit with structure, like writing only dialogue for an entire chapter. Quit rolling your eyes. Of course you'll go back later and add in setting and descriptions.

First drafts are the safest place to experiment and stretch the boundaries of your usual writing norm. If you were waiting for permission, here it is. Go for it.