First drafts, even good ones, are terrible. It doesn’t matter if you are in your first workshop, writing your master’s thesis, or starting your three hundred and seventy-second novel, it will be bad. This is not a reflection of your skill as a writer, but rather a fundamental law. The E=mc^2 of writing, if you will.

Anne Lamott, in the essay “Shitty First Drafts” from Bird by Bird, does an excellent job of explaining why the first draft is garbage, but the message bears repeating. “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” You don’t know where the story is going yet. You may have an idea of who the characters are, and maybe even some semblance of a plot, but until you sit down to write and spend time in the world of your story you’re just an outsider. That’s the purpose of a first draft, to explore the world and characters you’re creating.

So what can you do to get through this quagmire? Sit down and write. Silence the editor and critic in your head and just write. Become the Oracle of Delphi, channeling the words through your body and onto paper without interference. It’s more difficult than it sounds, but no one ever said writing was easy. If they did I call shenanigans.

Here are a few examples of things that help me to get through a first draft:

Don’t let yourself get caught up in word choice. I am guilty of this a few hundred times with each new story. For the final product it might matter if you use the word ‘big’ or ‘humongous’. But in the first draft? Write whatever comes into your head first and move on. There is a very real chance you won’t keep that word, line, or even scene. Why waste your time on it now?

Put everything that comes into your head onto paper. That means start with “it was a dark and stormy night”, put in a ten page dream sequence, and let your characters say exactly what they think or feel without subtlety or charm. Having the idea down on paper will let your mind filter through everything and decide what needs to be in the story and what doesn’t.

Take notes on your writing. I write my first drafts by hand in a college ruled notebook, and the one and one-quarter inch margin on the left is perfect for notes. I’ll add a note if I need more physical details, or if a character’s actions aren’t believable, or if I have an idea for a way to improve the story at a later point. I’ve even drawn pictures to remind myself of exactly the image I wanted (it was a cul-de-sac, just couldn’t think of the word). These notes probably won’t come into play until revision, but they let you write down your concern and move on.

As Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” Write that terrible, terrible draft. You’ll have more than you did yesterday, and something to work with tomorrow.