Fast Drafting Tips! | What is a Zero Draft?

NO ONE reads my first drafts- let alone do I even mention what I’m working on. Yes, I’ve been doing zero drafts now for a long while; thought that was just part of it.

I really like this concept. I've been trying to push through drafting by adding comments or putting stage directions in brackets where I don't feel like doing scene descriptions, which are really boring for me to write. Now I know there's a term for this.

Im working on my first novel (technically I’ve fast drafted a different one or two but I’m much further in the process of the one I’m working on now) and i pumped out what i call the bare bones draft in 6 days. Its 40k words, only focuses on story with the minimum description needed to be interesting and understandable. Right now i am rewriting with my bare bones draft open to the side, following it like a guide and expanding on it as needed. The word count is doubling which is a relief and its taking a little longer (5k or so a day) but I’m finding it works well for me so far and the continuity is easier to maintain when i know where I’m going. (Im not fond of outlining lol)

I call my zero drafts “my rough, ROUGH drafts” because it’s with pencil and paper. During this part of my writing process, I don’t care if there are spelling mistakes, there are notes where I need to add things so my reader connects to my main characters more, I forgot a bit of dialogue/description, or I’m still working on certain characters dynamics. Everything is still in flux for me during a Zero Draft.

However the most important thing is that it isn’t overwhelming or scary. I went to start my book on google docs, my anxiety was spiking because I was scared to mess up these characters that I love and have spent so long crafting. However, with a Zero Draft with paper and pencil I don’t have that fear because I feel like I can mess up and play around a bit, versus of it I were to do this on google docs where I feel like typing is a bit more permanent.

That anti tip made me go "OMG that's what's happening to me right now". I wasn't in a good place mentally/emotionally to work on it dur8ng this time, but I've been waiting for months and the person I thought I could rely on hasn't read a single word.

I'm a unicorn! I wrote a very rough draft that I'm now going to call a zero draft because. Love that!
But I wrote a 70k book in a month minus the end because I knew so much would change I decided to come back to it.
I used a website that is called 4thewords and it is brilliant. I can fight monsters and get loot by writing fast enough. It makes my adhd brain go brrr. 🎉

I wrote a full manuscript in 2 weeks, thanks to you. When you go down to edit? What do you actually do? Do you just start cutting scenes and adding new ones, or what?

Nice to listen to and follow

thanks

"If it does work for you, write the ending first."
Me as I just wrote the phrases of the final part of an act, and working backwards to make sure I get all my braindump in without is going all over the place.

I am a plotter so I use beat sheets a lot. I put my main points into the sections and then expand and expand and expand until I have what I call a 'chunky outline'. Occasionally it will have dot points in a scene, but it is usually more fleshed out. I've been writing for many years now and am still figuring out 'my process'.

when i do stuff like this i just write as if i was telling someone the story in my own conversational speaking like 'and then the character was like OMG and the other one was like NO WAY and then THE BUILDING FALLS!!' shit like that. its stupid but at least its words.

been drafting over five weeks. this tip speaks to my blood. a zero draft. absolutely genius

Are you Sagittarius?. Yaeee

I feel like my issue was I was trying to do a complete draft, by doing a draft 0 this might help me and make me feel a lot more confident as my draft so far has me feeling a bit silly. Thanks

I stopped writing for 2 days because i was stressed that it wasn´t perfect, i would stop to correct the repetitive words and i just felt like i couldnt write, and after watching this video i feel so relaxed and so inspired. Thank u!

I like using cheerleaders because mental health says I need to know its good while I write, BUT I'm trying to make sure I keep writing regardless of how long it takes them to get back to me! because at least if they enjoy it I'll already be done with one or two more chapters:D

i am currently zero drafting and didn't realise it.. it makes so much sense and i'm enjoying the process and learning to trust the process. this is good confirmation/synchronicity

love love love this!

I’ve been doing this for years without even knowing it was a thing. I have an entire method before I actually start drafting.

Are zero drafts supposed to end up much shorter in word count than a first+ draft? Could authors aiming for a certain word count for their novel (due to genre conventions) end up shooting themselves on the foot by trying to hit that in a zero draft that is actually supposed to be much slimmer than the real thing?

Coffee and snacks as a tool? Yes please.

I call this my frankendraft lol same idea though. Thanks for the tips!

I can’t imagine writing only a thousand words in a sitting. I wouldn’t be able to do that. I need to get through a cohesive section of my story or I get lost. But I am a plotser. I have a sentence or two for each scene or chapter that I use and keep my themes in mind like she suggests. I don’t sit down to write without the intention of writing 3000+ words.

Huh. I didn't know that was what I was doing.

Great tips!

I'd been dwelling on the way that I draft. Then I watched a video that offhand mentioned Zero Drafting, and it turns out thats exactly what I do, and theres a word for it. lmao
I 100% just write to get the story on the page. I can dwell on a sentence for days, so I push myself until the story is over, then I can make everything prettier.
It does pose a problem when some of this is submitted for school. lmao

I've always heard it referred to as a vomit draft. Maybe that's a screenwriting thing?

One tip I've heard a lot is to draft at first in Comic Sans. Presumably because you expect something written in Comic Sans to be bad lol.

I'm currently trying to finalise a first draft of a novel (then plan to leave it to breath and review again over Xmas etc) and I planned to try and do nano next month with a new novel idea... But haven't fleshed out the novel idea yet so trying to work out a realistic schedule as I've realised I can't work on two at the same time haha. Trying to keep myself grounded. Useful tips, thank you.

Wow! Okay, I have been hitting that 80-90% wall and abandoning the work because I guess I was convinced that I had to write the entire first draft, do or die, and if I didn't the story wasn't going to work. This is a game-changer for me. Whole frame of reference for this just flipped. Thank you!

Have a great day

Me trying to fast draft/zero draft:
My perfectionism: 👁️👄👁️

Great vid. Loads of great advice, thank you.

I tend to use brackets to remind myself to add specific things later. Helps me search for them when I'm out of the drafting process. [something like this insert vague description here]

My struggle is always against my inner editor when trying to draft fast. The best way I combat her is to either write wordsprints on my AlphaSmart neo in "timed typing" mode, which prevents the use of the backspace, or on my computer in either Wingdings/Webdings font or plain white. The objective, of course, is not to see what I'm typing so I resist the urge to correct it.

I wrote a zero draft, didn’t finish the ending (I thought it was my first draft, but I have been proven wrong lol) now im going to go back in, knowing that it’s okay for it to be messy, since I was really demotivated because the quality of my writing in the zero draft was definitely NOT that great. Thank you so much for the tips!

I love your videos so much. You make them so much fun while packing them with super helpful tips. Thank you! ❤️

I think thisll help me stop giving into my perfectionism and just write :)

Am I the only one who's gonna mention her thumbnail is an Illuminati symbol lol

Amen! Plan it out! Draft lean! Track daily word counts! Reward with sugar! I agree with this whole video. It sounds like everything I'm already doing.

I am currently stuck at the 85-90% mark of my first draft of my first novel ever. I originally created a detailed outline, however I ended up changing some things after the midpoint and now my original ending just doesn't fit anymore and I've been scrambling for a new one to be able to finish my draft quickly, but to no avail. I have been telling myself that I HAVE to just think of an ending now and write it before I go in and edit it, or rewrite it. Otherwise my edits might just end up being scrapped anyway. But you saying that you have the same thing happen to you, and you leave then ending for later, I felt a huge sense of relief. Maybe I should just try that. Just go through and edit my book, which I now, watching this video realize is actually more of a zero draft with place holders and a lot of scenes I know aren't what I originally even wanted them to be. So much I skipped over, telling myself I can just fix it later, maybe I should just fix it now and it might give me the direction I've been looking for! This video helped me so much! Thank you!

My advice is write awkward and fun first drafts. Get the story out in its most creative form, and this is usually found on a sentence by sentence format, a certain creativity plotting may struggle to materialise. Once you have the dirty first draft rewrite the entre thing, sentence by sentence. Now you are plotting a novel, or writing to a plot, because you are rewriting your first draft without the bad stuff and filling it with good stuff. Then what? Rewrite the entire thing again a third time. No need to refer to notes or stick to a plan, no need to feel nervous; you know this story by now. Once you finish this, contemplate if it is ready for line editing. If so, proceed. If not, do a forth draft. Once a draft has been completed that conveys your original idea and as been boosted by subsequent drafting, proceed with line edit. What does that involve? Rewrite each sentence of your story, sentence by sentence, so that each sentence is absolutely beautiful. Rule: rewrite each sentence once only or you'll forever be thinking you can do better. Do better in other books. Get this book done. Once you have rewritten each sentence, edit it for grammar, syntax, spelling ect, but cut cut cut at this stage. Rewriting each sentence prob caused word count to rise, but now you will lower it again. Done? Proced with copy edit. Done? Popceed with manuscript assessmebt, sit back, and wait to be torn apart. That's horrible, you say. That's beauty, I say. Thanks for vid 😉

Super helpful! Thanks for this, it really changed my perspective on my terribad 1st- I mean, my terribad 0 draft!

Are you open to feedback on the presentation of your videos? I have some suggestions but worry that this might not be the place where you would like constructive criticism.

I always call my zero draft a Swiss cheese draft! So for my zero always has most of the main plot and bread crumbs for my subplots!

thank you for this!! it turns out I've written a zero draft!! I'm very proud of what I've done but I've been frustrated that I can't write the ending because of my "list of things I want to fix" from the beginning; I have a more specific title, theme, arc(s) than I did when I started but was beating myself up for not being able to "finish"

this encourages me that I don't have to, I can go back and rewrite with more intention, and reach the end next time!! :)

I just finished my outline and each scene has about 3-10 sentences describing what happens. I'm a heavy plotter because without a road map, I never am able to finish a story.

It's been 6 months and I still watch this video religiously.