WHY YOU SHOULD BURN YOUR FIRST DRAFT

By Niharika Guleria

You should absolutely burn your first draft—because it’s a mess. Burn it not because it is trash but because you have the ability to rebuild something much better.

So, here are some reasons why you should burn your first draft:

1.     Because iteration is the game:

You’re not here to write a story—you’re here to evolve one. First draft? That’s just the brainstorming session with a keyboard. Burn it so version two can be smarter and way more diabolically clever.

2.     Because creativity is always on clean slates:

Rewriting from scratch will help you approach the same ideas with sharper wit, better twists execution. You already know where it’s going—now you get to add flair and finesse, make it more presentable, more unique.

3.     Because it is a more efficient use of information (and also because it is not boring):

 The fun is in the remix. You don’t want just a clean, linear process—you want surprise, you want to make it more interesting. Burn the blueprint and rebuild it into something no one saw coming. Including you.

4.     Because it’s a brain dump, not a draft:

It is chaotic, full of ambition but still chaotic. It is not art yet, it’s raw clay. Redefining it would make it art.

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.     Because it is liberating:

Burning the first draft is like letting go of an old thing after you outgrow it. It is liberating in a sense of letting things go even though it is just a draft.

In short, burn the draft. Not because it’s bad—but because you can make something better. More layered. More clever. More you.