Simon Says... First Drafts Are Supposed To Be Trash.
On writing advice, NPR, and Bar Mitzvahs.
Welcome to Simon Says, a weekly newsletter from Rachel Simon about writing, not writing, and sort-of-, kind-of, I’m-putting-words-on-a-page-but-let’s-be-real-they’re-garbage writing. For current and aspiring writers, but everyone else is welcome, too.
Last week, I interviewed a writer I admire, whose second novel comes out next month. Towards the end of our Zoom call, she asked me about my own writing, so I filled her in on my struggles with my work-in-progress: all the messy, barely finished drafts, the months spent avoiding writing, my fear that I don’t even know what the story is really about. “The real problem,” I told her, “is that I have to start from scratch every time.”
I expected her to sympathize with me or encourage me, but instead, she did something surprising: She corrected me. “You’re not starting from scratch, because this isn’t your first draft. You already wrote that first draft, and a second, and a third.” I protested that those pages barely counted, because they were so messy, full of confusing contradictions and plot points that went nowhere. That didn’t matter, she told me: “You wrote hundreds of pages, with a beginning, middle, and end? That’s a draft. No matter how messy or cringey or bad it is.”
Hearing her say that hit me hard. I tell my writing students all the time that first drafts are, indeed, supposed to be messy, and that all that matters is that you go back a second, and third, and fourth time to make things better. But I guess I never applied that to myself. I’d been viewing my latest attempt at the book as if it was my first-ever, barely relying on my previous words because I felt like they were too bad to use. But when I view this draft, instead, as the fourth or fifth or whichever one it actually is, it all feels a little more manageable. I can, and should, use all the material I already have, all the problems I’ve already solved and all the discoveries I’ve already made, to produce something that’ll hopefully be just a little, tiny bit better than the draft that came before.
I’m not writing a new book each time. I’m writing my book, one slightly-less-bad draft at a time.
Work Updates:
I was on NPR today! During the KQED Forum show, I spoke about Pickleball for All and the sport’s growing popularity. If you want to listen, you can tune in to Siriux/XM at 5 pm EST today.
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Lawrence lead singer Gracie Lawrence about the band’s infectious hit “Don’t Lose Sight” (seriously, it’ll give you a major mood boost), ‘00s nostalgia, and sexism in music. We had a great time chatting, and you can read the interview on Shondaland.
I had a few other stories go live recently, including this roundup of the best toilet bowl cleaners for Real Simple, this review of a dog water bottle for People, and a spotlight on the J.Crew summer sale, also for People.
Reminder to my North Carolina folks that you can sign up now for my six-week class on personal essays and features, which starts in August.
As always, a reminder to please pre-order your copy of Pickleball for All. August 30 is coming up fast and I can use all the support I can get!
This Week in Pop Culture:
I just finished reading Suleika Jaouad’s Between Two Kingdoms, and I can honestly say I was *floored* by this memoir. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and immensely powerful—the kind of book that will stay with me for years to come.
I watched the movie Cha Cha Real Smooth over the weekend, and it was… fine. I wanted to like it so much more than I did! It’s set during Bar/Bat Mitzvah season in New Jersey and co-stars the great Leslie Mann, but the lead actor (who also wrote and directed) was kind of a mess. Anyone else see it?
DM me if you want to hear my thoughts on the latest Kardashian news (aka Khloe and Tristan having a second baby), because BOY DO I HAVE THEM.
I am happy for Mr. and Mrs. Affleck and sad for Chelsea Handler and her guy.
This Week’s Gratitude Moment:
On Friday night, Kurt and I went out to Oak Steakhouse for a delicious dinner to celebrate some good work news for him, and afterwards, we decided to drop by Dix Park to see the annual sunflower bloom. The flowers were gorgeous, the sun was setting, and it was just a perfect night overall.
Thanks for reading, friends. Talk soon!
-Rachel