I will never get over the disappointment of starting a new book and seeing that it’s not the glorious, glittering, complex, heartbreaking, imaginative wonder I planned, but just some words on a page. It feels flat, flimsy and boring. Every. Single. Time.
And I feel like writers don’t talk about this enough! I see so many beginner writers be put off by it. They’ve planned something incredible - but first drafts aren’t incredible. They’re a lump of clay. They WILL be incredible - but not yet
There’s no way around that weak, flimsy, clunky first draft (or not that I know, anyway). You just have to deal with the disappointment, keep working, and hope that with each edit it will get stronger, cleaner, smarter, more imaginative, more emotionally satisfying
After 6+ books I should know this by now! But every time I start I think ‘THIS time. This time it will be perfect first time.’ And of course it’s not, and of course I’m disappointed. So if that’s you: it’s ok. Keep writing. It’ll never be what’s in your head - but it will be real