Rough Drafts
Why Rough Drafts Should Never Be Perfect By E. S. Foster / May 24, 2026 Reading Time: 4 minutes “I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles” – Shannon Hale When writers sit down to write, they might have a plan of action. Or they might have no plan at all, and they just want to write whatever comes to them. Either way is perfectly acceptable, but when it comes to writing rough drafts, it’s vital that you take certain measures, whether you have an outline or not. By that I mean don’t strive for perfection . Rough drafts are exactly what the name suggests: rough. They aren’t meant to be polished. In fact, they’re meant to be terrible. It might seem like you’re not getting anywhere with your story when you’re in the beginning stages. You’re wasting time if you’re constantly making changes, coming up with new ideas, or just generally not writing your best. But you’re progress...