In my decade-plus in publishing, I’ve noticed some common first draft problems. It’s only natural—in the explosive ecstasy of first draft writing, when your commitment is just to getting your story all out on paper, you’re bound to make some mistakes. That’s what a first draft is for. No worries–you’ll rectify them in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. drafts.

In the freedom of a first draft, authors may end up creating a new character every time new informati...