Decide what the first version should teach you.
A first draft is useful when it answers a question. Does the story make sense? Can someone find the information? Does this arrangement feel balanced? Pick one question before adding detail.
Choose the quickest useful format.
Use a paper sketch before a finished screen. Use a rough recording before a produced track. Use bullet points before polished prose. The right format is the one that makes your question easier to answer.
Make a complete small thing.
Try to reach an ending at a modest scale. One complete page can teach you more about the structure than a beautifully finished heading. Where a detail is missing, leave a clear placeholder and move on.
A useful limit: Make one version, with one main idea, using tools you already know. Save the extra features for a second pass.
Review in three passes.
- Notice what works. Mark a part you want to keep. Be specific about why it helps.
- Find the main friction. Choose the one unclear or unfinished part that matters most to your original question.
- Choose one revision. Make a change you can evaluate, then look again before changing everything else.
Ask for a response, not a verdict.
If you share the draft, tell the person what you are trying to learn. “Where did you lose the thread?” gives you more to work with than “Is it good?” You do not have to act on every suggestion; look for feedback that helps the purpose of the work.
Keep the early version.
Save a copy before revising. It gives you a record of your choices and lets you recover a direction you may want to explore later.
A simple first-draft review.
Three prompts to help you decide what to keep, change, and try next.
Download the review sheet ↓