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035 The 10 Rules of Rough Drafts

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Previous Episode:034 5 Ways to Create the Perfect Ending that Your Content Deserves More Episodes Next Episode:036 The Aggressive Work Ethic of Highly Creative People

All Episodes:

October 21, 2015

102 The Beautiful Message Joseph Campbell Was Really Trying to Tell Us

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100 The Episode That Explains the Future of Rough Draft

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099 A Better Way to Find Big Ideas (That Make You Stand Out)

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098 How to Grab Great Ideas (Without Using Your Hands)

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097 The Problem with the ‘Hell-For-Leather’ Writing Movement

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096 Why These Famous Time-Management Techniques Are Ruining Your Productivity

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095 Freaking Out Over the Thought of Writing a First Draft? Try Scaffolding

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094 How to Avoid Obscurity by Misusing Language

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093 A Creative Email Trick for Becoming a Plain Spoken Writer

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092 Let This Stupid Machine Read Your Copy Out Loud

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091 This Free App Will Help You Write Bold and Clear Copy

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090 Four Writing Lessons I Learned from This Depressing Music Project

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089 The Clear-Copy Rule of Writing for the Web

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088 Three Ways Writers Must Adjust in a World Dominated by Social Media

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087 How This Social Media Thing Kicked Web Writing Right in the Feels

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086 An Elegant Story on Outsmarting Career Obsolescence

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085 Raise the Stakes! 13 Writing Ideas That Really Work

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084 The Two Things That Make a Dull Product Irresistible

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083 Proof That Stories Can Increase the Value of Even ‘Worthless’ Items

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082 Could Podcasting Make You a Better Writer?

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081 When Do You Abandon the Editing Process?

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080 Four Ways to Get Attention by Rocking the Boat

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079 A Brief Introduction to the Art of Catching Hell

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078 Six Storytelling Lessons from a Famous Urban Legend

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077 Vexed by Your Bankrupt Vocabulary? Listen to This

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076 Why Writers Need to Develop a Sense of Humor

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075 Listener Challenge: Could You Read 100 Books in a Year?

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074 How to Get Massive Attention with a ‘High-Concept Pitch’

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073 A Lesson in Swagger from a Wooden-Legged Civil War Soldier

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072 Six Ways to Becoming a Completely Original Writer

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071 The Oldest Writing Trick in The Book

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070 Eight Things Every Writer Should Know about Landing Pages

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069 The Fascinating Truth about Boring Topics

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068 How to Craft an About Page That People Actually Read and Share

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067 The Psychology Behind Winning Email Subject Lines

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065 A Mildly Spooky Illustration of “Reason Why” Copy

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064 A Mild Warning for All Headline Writers

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063 How Every Creative Must Think about Marketing and Advertising

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062 Do Millennials (Really) Hate Long Copy?

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061 These 4 Sales Principles Can Improve Anyone’s Writing

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060 How to Use the 5 Stages of Audience Awareness to Dominate Online

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059 Why The Most Hated Headline Structures Work So Well

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052 Three New Ways to Write a Headline (and When to Use Each)

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042 10 Odd Books That Will Improve Your Writing

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040 The Shocking Way to Master Any Book

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039 Nine Copywriting Books for Web Writers

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038 The 8 Rules of Ruthless Editing from David Mamet

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037 Revealed: The Perfect Blog Post Length

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036 The Aggressive Work Ethic of Highly Creative People

May 11, 2015

035 The 10 Rules of Rough Drafts

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034 5 Ways to Create the Perfect Ending that Your Content Deserves

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033 6 Simple Rules For Writing Effective Dialogue

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032 Use Internal Cliffhangers So People Never Stop Reading

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030 The Great Paragraph Hoax

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029 5 Ways to Write a Seductive Sentence

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028 How to Be Smart in a World of Dumb Verbs

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027 How the Perfect Article Is Framed by White Space

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026 The Best Articles Always Have This (and a Great Headline)

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025 The Anatomy of a Hyperlink That Woos Readers

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024 The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Bullet Points That Work

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023 How to Create Exquisite Subheadlines

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022 Four Safe Ways to Find Your Writing Voice (and One Dangerous One)

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021 The Two Kinds of Knowledge Every Writer Needs

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020 The Crazy Thing Writers Do to Become Exceptional

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018 Four Things That Can Make Writers Famous

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017 A Small Gift for Your Dark Days as an Obscure Writer

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016 Steal This Episode

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015 David Sedaris’ Guide to Writing Brilliant First Sentences

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014 Six Proven Ways to Open an Article With a Bang

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013 How I’ll Make You Read Every Single Line of This Article

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012 The Ugly Truth About How People Read Online

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010 How to Use RSS to Write Better Headlines

March 25, 2015

009 How to Write Headlines that Get Results

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008 Where Headlines Have Gone Horribly Wrong

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007 A 12-Minute Crash Course on Link Building (Ugh)

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006 An Idiot-Proof Guide to Writing Blog Posts That Google Loves

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004 How Search Engines Work, Part Two

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003 How Search Engines Work, Part One

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002 The Unbreakable Law of the Web

March 2, 2015

001 Two Challenges All Digital Content Must Conquer

May 11, 2015

035 The 10 Rules of Rough Drafts

I am about to destroy the lie that suggests your first draft must be perfect. The illusion that great copy is born in a single moment of white hot inspiration.

One of the most famous white-hot inspiration ambush stories in American literary history involves Jack Kerouac, Beat Generation pioneer.

As the legend has it, Kerouac wrote “On the Road,” a 293-page novel, in three coffee-fueled weeks on one long, flowing scroll.

Now, that is true. He did do that. But it’s not the full truth.

In this 6-minute episode you’ll discover:

  • The truth behind Jack Kerouac’s legendary writing frenzy (and how you can capitalize on it)
  • A trick to keep the ideas flowing when you are scared
  • The crazy low expectation you can have with your first draft
  • What you must be doing for inspiration to actually work
  • A quote from Kurt Vonnegut to help you not feel you are the only one who struggles with getting your ideas out

Listen to Rough Draft below ...

035 The 10 Rules of Rough DraftsDemian Farnworth
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The Show Notes

  • Three weeks, fuelled by coffee: Jack Kerouac’s On the Road scroll
  • How Award-Winning Journalist Adam Skolnick Writes
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The Transcript

The 10 Rules of Rough Drafts

Voiceover: This is Rainmaker.FM, a digital marketing podcast network. It’s built on the Rainmaker Platform, which empowers you to build your own digital marketing and sales platform. Start your free 14-day trial at RainmakerPlatform.com.

Demian Farnworth: Howdy friend, this is Rough Draft, your daily dose of essential web writing advice. I am Demian Farnworth, the Chief Content Writer for Copyblogger Media.

And thank you for spending the next few minutes of your life with me.

Alright. So here we are. You are going to have to forgive me, for I am about to destroy your insecurities. Your excuses. The lie that suggests your first draft must be perfect. The illusion that great copy is born in a single moment of white hot inspiration.

The Truth Behind Jack Kerouac’s Legendary Writing Frenzy (and How You Can Capitalize On It

One of the most famous white-hot inspiration ambush stories in American literary history involves Jack Kerouac, Beat Generation pioneer. As the legend has it, Kerouac wrote “On the Road,” a 293-page novel, in three coffee-fueled weeks on one long, flowing scroll.

Now, that is true. He did do that. But it’s not the full truth.

See, Kerouac was a meticulous note taker. A chronic scribbler. He was always writing. In notebooks. And in his head.

In fact, as early as autumn 1948 Kerouac had completed the first draft of a road novel he called “Ray Smith” — three years prior to the birth of On the Road.

And he had outlines, drafts, and journals full of this “On the Road” idea. Kerouac just allowed the pressure of the story to build until he couldn’t contain it anymore.

And then it just flowed. Like water.

But let’s not forget: he also revised that draft many times after that.

The Crazy Low Expectation You Can Have with Your First Draft

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to destroy the notion of inspiration. Like Picasso, I believe inspiration exists. It’s just better find us working.

Yet, the idea of writing a first drafts scares people. It scares us into a state of inactivity. It menaces me. Even the greats like Kurt Vonnegut. Kurt said, “When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.”

Did you catch that?

So when a writer of his caliber makes a statement like that … do you think you will be any different?

You won’t.

You’ll make your copy adequate in the first rewrite. Good in the second. Great in the third and the fourth. More likely in the fifth and sixth. And beyond.

But not today. Today is the day to write like a lunatic … or an invalid with a crayon crushed between your teeth. Just like our heroes.

What You Must Be Doing for Inspiration to Actually Work

And the best way to do that is to follow a few simple rules. Ten, rules in fact …

  1. Barricade the door. It must be just you, the ink, and the paper.
  2. Work in a physical and mental condition that makes you want to write. Get there by all means possible. Coffee or Coca-cola, exercise, or weird rituals. Just get there.
  3. Write yourself silly.
  4. Allow your imagination to go to strange places. Nothing is off limits. You can clean up your mess later.
  5. Break every writing rule known to man.
  6. It’s okay if your first draft reads like a letter from a lunatic.
  7. Steal stylistically from other writers, as all great writers do (see episode 16 if you want more information on this concept)
  8. Keep your bottom in your chair until you are done.
  9. Once finished with your first draft, leave it alone for days — if not weeks.
  10. Celebrate.

Go for a long walk. Hang out with friends. Watch a movie. Down a tall glass of lemonade. Jump the fence and slide into your neighbor’s pool.

Have fun. Celebrate. Because tomorrow you got your work cut out for you.

And, oh, by the way, if you want a small poster of these rules, check out the show notes.

Until next time. Take care.

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Comments

  1. Jody A. Thompson says

    September 10, 2015 at 4:56 PM

    Good to know, although I am cautious about rule # 7. As long as you’re not plagiarizing other people’s work.

    Reply
    • Demian Farnworth says

      September 11, 2015 at 8:31 AM

      Indeed, Jody. There is a line that can be crossed.

      Reply

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