--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing a first draft is like trying to…" description: "\"Writing a first draft is like trying to build a house in a strong wind.\" — William Faulkner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/william-faulkner-306_draft_writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to_415262.png" --- # Writing a first draft is like trying to build a house in a… ![“Writing a first draft is like trying to build a house in a strong wind.” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/william-faulkner-306_draft_writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to_415262.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/william-faulkner-306_draft_writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to_415262.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/william-faulkner-306_draft_writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to_415262.png) > “Writing a first draft is like trying to build a house in a strong wind.” [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Drafting under pressure feels chaotic, like building a house in wind, but it’s necessary to start. **In simple terms:** Drafting is tough but essential. Key Takeaway Embrace the mess, keep building. Themes writing creativity resilience Mood determined reflective Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - writing a novel - academic paper - software prototype - marketing copy Key Concepts process iteration uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - How can you protect your ideas from being blown away? - What structures help you stay grounded? A Different Perspective The draft may be unstable and need many revisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Strong winds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-winds/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/adversity-is-like-a-strong-wind-i-don-t-mean-just-that-it-holds-us/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [When I perform outside, the major problem that could arise is strong wind.I spend months preparing for the types of wind that occur in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/when-i-perform-outside-the-major-problem-that-could-arise-is-strong/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [An oak and a reed were arguing about their strength. When a strong wind came up, the reed avoided being uprooted by bending and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/an-oak-and-a-reed-were-arguing-about-their-strength-when-a-strong/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [In a strong wind, even turkeys can fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-suster/in-a-strong-wind-even-turkeys-can-fly/) [Mark Suster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-suster/) > [Loud wind, strong wind, sweeping o'er the mountains, Fresh wind, free wind, blowing from the sea, Pour forth thy vials like streams from airy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/loud-wind-strong-wind-sweeping-o-er-the-mountains-fresh-wind-free/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [A good quotation is a very strong wind; it can change a man's direction!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-good-quotation-is-a-very-strong-wind-it-can-change-a-man-s-direction/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Every time a strong wind blows, every sand and dust yearns for being a solid rock and every solid rock longs for flying with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/every-time-a-strong-wind-blows-every-sand-and-dust-yearns-for-being-a/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I don't like re-writing very much. The fourth and the fifth draft - that's too much like work. There's not much inspiration about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/i-don-t-like-re-writing-very-much-the-fourth-and-the-fifth-draft-that/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [I do a nice sloppy first draft like everybody else. And then just work at it and work at it and groom it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/i-do-a-nice-sloppy-first-draft-like-everybody-else-and-then-just-work/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) > [The draft is like game day on a 3rd-and-5. You have a lot of plays you can choose from. You go with your gut,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cowher/the-draft-is-like-game-day-on-a-3rd-and-5-you-have-a-lot-of-plays-you/) [Bill Cowher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cowher/) > [Writing the first draft of a new story is incredibly difficult for me. I will happily do revisions, because once I can see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/writing-the-first-draft-of-a-new-story-is-incredibly-difficult-for-me/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [The benefit of this kind of outlining is that you discover a story's flaws before you invest a lot of time writing the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephen/the-benefit-of-this-kind-of-outlining-is-that-you-discover-a-story-s/) [George Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephen/) > [I write until the first draft is finished, and then I feel that I can get out. But, during the time of the writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-write-until-the-first-draft-is-finished-and-then-i-feel-that-i-can/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [When I'm writing the first draft, I'm writing in a very slovenly way: anything to get the outline of the story on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/when-i-m-writing-the-first-draft-i-m-writing-in-a-very-slovenly-way/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [Writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/writing-a-first-draft-and-reminding-myself-that-i-m-simply-shoveling/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) ## More by William Faulkner > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Luster returned, wearing a stiff new straw hat with a colored band and carrying a cloth cap. The hat seemed to isolate Luster's skull,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/luster-returned-wearing-a-stiff-new-straw-hat-with-a-colored-band-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What matters is at the end of life, when you're about to pass into oblivion, that you've at least scratched 'Kilroy was here,' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-matters-is-at-the-end-of-life-when-you-re-about-to-pass-into/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I've got to feel the pencil and see the words at the end of the pencil,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-ve-got-to-feel-the-pencil-and-see-the-words-at-the-end-of-the-pencil/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [And sure enough, even waiting will end...if you can just wait long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/and-sure-enough-even-waiting-will-end-if-you-can-just-wait-long-enough/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-believe-that-man-will-not-merely-endure-he-will-prevail-he-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/to-understand-the-world-you-must-first-understand-a-place-like/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What modren ideas?” pap said. “I didn’t know there was but one idea about work—until it is done, it ain’t done, and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-modren-ideas-pap-said-i-didn-t-know-there-was-but-one-idea-about/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She has no mother because fatherblood hates with love and pride, but motherblood with hate loves and cohabits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/she-has-no-mother-because-fatherblood-hates-with-love-and-pride-but/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Byron listened quietly, thinking to himself how people everywhere are about the same, but that it did seem that in a small town, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/byron-listened-quietly-thinking-to-himself-how-people-everywhere-are/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was too late. Maybe yesterday, while I was still a child, but not now. I knew too much, had seen too much, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-too-late-maybe-yesterday-while-i-was-still-a-child-but-not-now/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Explore all 673 William Faulkner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## More Draft quotes > [A lot of young guys coming up in this league, they're given the spotlight right away, depending on draft stature or whatever the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/a-lot-of-young-guys-coming-up-in-this-league-they-re-given-the/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) > [A draft doesn't produce the people we need to satisfy our real manpower shortage. We need specialists to keep our jets flying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/a-draft-doesn-t-produce-the-people-we-need-to-satisfy-our-real/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/the-first-draft-is-usually-junk-you-have-to-work-on-it-seven-to-eight/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [That would just mean so much to be to be thought of as the best player in the draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bosa/that-would-just-mean-so-much-to-be-to-be-thought-of-as-the-best/) [Nick Bosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bosa/) > [I read and write but my ideas don't go beyond the first draft. When they will, I will make it into a film probably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antara-mali/i-read-and-write-but-my-ideas-don-t-go-beyond-the-first-draft-when/) [Antara Mali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antara-mali/) > [I am a product of the draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-inhofe/i-am-a-product-of-the-draft/) [James Inhofe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-inhofe/) > [I still wake up thinking about draft choices we should have made that would have impacted the franchise for a long time, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-epstein/i-still-wake-up-thinking-about-draft-choices-we-should-have-made-that/) [Theo Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-epstein/) > [The first draft of 'Ex Machina' is extremely different than the finished film. That would be like 10% of the original draft stayed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/the-first-draft-of-ex-machina-is-extremely-different-than-the/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [At the combine and at my workouts, I tried to be the perfect player. I tried to promote my strengths and conceal my weaknesses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/at-the-combine-and-at-my-workouts-i-tried-to-be-the-perfect-player-i/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [There are some writers who are done when they finish a draft because they've thought it through beforehand. Whereas I'll finish a first draft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/there-are-some-writers-who-are-done-when-they-finish-a-draft-because/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [With my first book, I was hired to write a draft of the script. I was so young and less confident. They put me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/with-my-first-book-i-was-hired-to-write-a-draft-of-the-script-i-was/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [From watching the draft and following the NFL closely, anything can happen in the draft. But to me, it's not where I get drafted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saquon-barkley/from-watching-the-draft-and-following-the-nfl-closely-anything-can/) [Saquon Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saquon-barkley/) > [We just have fun with our NFL Draft coverage because we understand that it's a long process, and there can be technical glitches that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-eisen/we-just-have-fun-with-our-nfl-draft-coverage-because-we-understand/) [Rich Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-eisen/) > [“The first draft is always shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-first-draft-is-always-shit/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/every-first-draft-is-perfect-because-all-a-first-draft-has-to-do-is/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) Browse all 544 Draft quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing a first draft is like trying to build a house in a strong wind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Faulkner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to-build-a-house-in-a-strong-wind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Draft" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to-build-a-house-in-a-strong-wind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/william-faulkner-306_draft_writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to_415262.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/william-faulkner-306_draft_writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to_415262.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/william-faulkner-306_draft_writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to_415262.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing a first draft is like trying to build a house in a strong wind.” — William Faulkner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Faulkner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing a first draft is like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to-build-a-house-in-a-strong-wind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/writing-a-first-draft-is-like-trying-to-build-a-house-in-a-strong-wind/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```