A Crappy First Draft

"Give yourself permission to write a crummy first draft."

Sometime in 2020 I copied and pasted that quote into a document on the creative habits of author Brad Thor. To be honest, I don't know where I pulled it from (I didn't copy the source) or if it's actually attributed to him in the first place!

That said, it's something I've heard artists of all stripes say in as many different ways.

And it's true.

It's a demo.

It's a first take with the camera's rolling.

It's a sketch.

And if you let it, it'll free you up to keep the momentum going long enough in the flow to release the idea - the sound, the words, the shapes, the image, the scene, the breakthrough design - whatever it is, it's a draft of the better version yet to come, but only if you let yourself push through the "crummy" draft taking shape right before your eyes.

I read my first Brad Thor novel recently. A year or more after jotting down the "crummy" quote above. I'm thankful for first drafts.