Recipe for Drafting: Beat Writer’s Block & Finish the First Draft of Your Novel Faster

by Megan Barnhard

Have you ever gotten stuck in the middle of a first draft? Maybe you got a bad case of writer’s block. Or maybe you had plenty of ideas, but finding time to write felt impossible. Maybe you write a ton when you’re “in the zone” but getting—and staying—there doesn’t happen easily. In this fun, quick read, you’ll learn how to make the best use of different parts of your “writing brain” so that you get the most out of your writing time, whether or not you’re feeling inspired. You’ll get practical tips plus deep insights about the writing process that get you unstuck so you keep moving toward “The End.” You’ll get... A step-by-step drafting process that offers you tools for whatever road blocks you hit. A straightforward explanation of Show vs. Tell and when to use each one. Straight talk from a 12-year veteran writing coach about how to bust procrastination. Over 30 freewriting exercises to super-charge your creativity and get your ideas flowing. The no-fail recipe for writing an opening chapter that gets readers hooked. My killer do-it-backwards plan for a climax that packs a big punch. Rough Draft Rules that keep you moving forward past self doubt or perfectionism.

153 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2018

About the author

Megan Barnhard has been writing since before she could reach the pencil sharpener. After completing a degree in philosophy, trying her hand at Attic Greek, and learning everything there is to know about spelling (and then unfortunately forgetting it), Megan settled into a career as a writing coach in 2006. Since then, she's been helping writers discover their voices and tell their stories. She's passionate about making the writing process less mysterious and more fun for creatives and entrepreneurs. When she's not coaching writers or writing books about writing, you can find Megan reading books about how the mind works, cooking, or playing "string" with her kitty, Bradbury, who may or may not be the reincarnation of the famous author.

Reviews

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly me, bought book 2 before I realised there was a book 1. Which I then went on to read before writing a review for this one. I am organised chaos most days…
I always think a non-fic writing book is worth it if I learnt even one thing. This one I learnt more.

Writing your rough draft is centering your clay. Once you’ve finished, you still have what looks very much like the lump of clay you started with. The difference is, it’s ready to be shaped and worked on in fine detail. It will submit to your expert handling without fighting back or flying off in your face. Centering ain’t pretty, but it’s necessary.

I like that metaphor. If you’ve ever tried to throw a pot on a wheel, you’ll know exactly what she means.
She has been a story coach for more than ten years.

There’s another kind of feeling linked to “the more you write, the more you need to write,” though. It’s the feeling of the goal posts being moved farther and farther out each time you nearly reach them. You think you’re approaching the end, but a niggling little voice of doubt tells you that the story isn’t good enough yet. The voice of epiphany and inspiration is a beautiful force for writers; the voice of doubt is the exact opposite. A lot of the skill of being a writer is in being able to distinguish those two voices from one another. You’ll get better and better at it the more you practice listening to your own inner wisdom and paying attention to your writing habits, so don’t worry if you’re not 100% sure who’s talking to you all the time.

She thinks of her inner muse as a five year old who can be easily defeated by the adult / editing brain that points out that the sun isn’t green or demands more research on whatever topic it is. She also likes to think of her worker persona as an ant, who can be working away when the five year old will pop in and want to play.

And sometimes more research means the judgmental part of your brain is stalling because it knows drafting a book is much more difficult than surfing the web for authentic hair styles for maids from 1837.

Oooh I know that one. I’ve wandered off to research medieval underwear … and that’s exactly how I think of my own brain, except my ‘adult’ is a mother figure, there’s me, and a scared small person hiding behind things.
This volume comes with an easy access google doc with all the work sheets.
Worth a look.
4 stars

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for writers, especially new writers!

Megan does a great job of going through the drafting process in a logical manner, starting with the myths associated with writing and then delving in into practical tips you can start applying right away. The tips on busting procrastination are great! She adds her special brand of humor to each chapter which keeps you laughing as you read.

I appreciate her flexibility in showing how to tackle issues in a couple of different ways so you can experiment and find the one that fits you best. While I think the methods will be especially helpful for people writing their first or second books, even veteran with multiple books published will find great nuggets of wisdom to help them refine their writing process.

[Laurie Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, it will make drafting your story so much easier. Read it through first, the pop culture references are spot on. And you turn the last page having a pretty good idea of what you need to do. Keep it on your desk to refer to.

[Summer Kiska · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've written several first drafts, so the trials and tribulations of it all are forefront in my mind. Barnhard takes you through all the various parts of that first draft writing process and offers valuable tools you can print off and make your own along the way. (I love it when non-fiction directs me to a link where I can print all the exorcises that resonated with me!)

Some of the book's suggestions won't work for you. (They didn't all work for me!) The cool thing is that Barnhard recognizes that. This book is also a way to figure out (if you're not in tune already) what your personal styles, personal weaknesses, and personal awesomenesses are.

Personally, my favorite portion of the book was the chapter discussing "show, don't tell." (No, no, I promise, it's not THAT lecture.) Barnhard is the first person who's ever identified a full sphere acknowledgement of, not just what it is, but when it's actually a GOOD thing! (And when it's NOT.)

As someone who usually grabs hold of a stapler, ready to throw it at whomever says the phrase "show, don't tell!" anywhere near my vicinity, trust me, this is high praise!

Recipe for Drafting is a short, but definitely sweet helping hand for getting an author through that first reeeeally large step of the book crafting process.