Ideas are cheap, but they are necessary. If you were curios enough to click on a post about how to write a rough draft, you probably already have an idea. If not, now is great time to have one.
You can word it like this: What if... What if Moana just saved the world and her family did not accept her back? What if every human sacrifice created a new god? What if there was a dog who hated being dirty but he was born in a swamp?
There are a lot of ways to do this. I'm going to give you the simplest one. It has three items: a beginning, a middle, and an end. How does it begin? How does it end? What complicates things in the middle to make the end difficult to get to?
As a first time writer, you might be tempted to spend a lot of time here. I would encourage you to time box this. Give yourself a day or a week or just a few hours. You are going to learn a lot more through writing than you will through creating an outline.
It's happening! You are putting fingers to keys, or pen to paper, and
getting your story out. Whatever form it is taking, you are doing it,
and that is what matters the most. The idea you have in your head is
becoming a reality.
At some point, the momentum is going to stop. Maybe you run out of time. You have to go to work, or to school, or to bed. You sit down again later, and things are not flowing the way they were before. Take a few deep breaths. This is normal. Everything is normal. Everyone experiences this moment. Put your fingers back on the keys and start typing.
That didn't work? Okay, no need to panic. There are few things you can try:
1. Free writing - Sometimes this is called stream of conscious writing. Start a new writing session, pull up a fresh sheet of paper, open a new document - whatever you need to do to start fresh. Now write whatever is in your head. If there is nothing, write that there is nothing. Write about the to do list, the work projects, the relationship struggles, the heart aches, the frustration, the judgments. The only rule is that you can hold nothing back. Write it out as it comes into your brain.
2. Start an argument - This method works well for me when I've
written my character into a corner and I'm not sure how to get her out.
If she is alone, have her argue with herself about her options. If she
has a companion, have the argument be out loud. Once I'm in the mode of
writing, the solution almost always appears to me.
3. Take a break - Go outside. Watch a movie. Read a book. All of these are valid ways to move your story forward. There is no rush. It is going to take you years to get to the level of writer where you want to be. There are no shortcuts. If writing is something that is important to you, if this story is one that you must tell, you will come back to it and you will keep writing. It is not something you have to force yourself to do. It will keep calling to you until you finish it.
The thing to remember is that what is keeping you from writing is not your ability, it is your unreasonable standards. Afraid you might not like what you will write? Let go of that judgmental thought and start writing. You don't have to get rid of that critical part of you, just ask them to sit in another room. You will invite them back later, when you are editing. They will be very helpful then, but they are not helpful now. Right now, they are keeping you from doing what you want to do.
You are not writing a final draft. You are writing a first draft. That means most of what you write is going to get changed. I'll say it again. Most of what you write is going to get changed. It is supposed to be rough, so let it be rough. Save your critiques for after you are finished.
I had originally titled this one: Repeat until you are done. But that is not entirely accurate. You don't really get to do this until you are done. You aren't done until the story is done. How do you know when it is done? It will tell you. You will write the last word and you will know. That was it. No more required.
And that's it! You did it! Print a copy. Post about your accomplishment online. You now have a complete story. It is not the story you set out to write. It is better. It is exists. Pat yourself on the back.
This is the part that is guaranteed. If you keep writing, you will always get here. You will always get to the finish. Well done.