Writers-on-writing Quote by Joyce Carol Oates

Getting the first draft finished is like pushing a peanut with your nose across a very dirty floor.

— Joyce Carol Oates

“The first draft is always shit.”

— Ernest Hemingway

“The first draft of anything is shit.”

— Ernest Hemingway

“It is better to write a bad first draft than no first draft at all.”

— Will Shetterly

“The purpose of the first draft is not to get it right, but to get it written.”

— John Dufresne

“Write the draft from your heart!”

— Kathleen Ballantine Watson

“First draft: let it run. Turn all the knobs up to 11. Second draft: hell. Cut it down and cut it into shape. Third…

— Terry Pratchett

“The first draft is your “vomit onto the keyboard” draft, wherein your task is to simply keep moving and outrun your doubts.”

— Sean Platt

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story. -Terry Pratchett”

— Anna Blondell

“You write your first draft with your heart, and you rewrite with your head.”

— James Ellison

“First drafts don’t have to be perfect. They just have to be written.”

— Anonymous

“The other six or seven drafts are going to be pure torture. So why not enjoy the first draft, in the hope that your…

— Ray Bradbury