Plenty of authors have plotted a story only for it to grow more complex, watched a short story balloon into a novel, or followed a character down an unintended rabbit hole that added chapters to their manuscript and weeks to their drafting timeline. And plenty of new writers who experience that same phenomenon have worried about what it means for the quality of their story. In this article from her guest series, however, book coach Rona Gofstein reassures authors that “overwriting” a first draft is impossible—and making the piece longer can many times actually help a story come together more completely than sticking to a specific word count.
Writers generally have a word count in mind when they write a book, usually based on genre expectations. But on several occasions, I’ve had writers come to me afraid that they are “overwriting” in their draft. It’s forty thousand words or more, and they aren’t even finished with the first half. What do they need to do? It can be unnerving to have done so much work and already know that it’s too much. Many writers—especially those at the start of their careers—don’t realize this is a natural part of the process, which is why they turn to book coaches with the question: Why is my first draft so long, and when is it too long?
Let me answer the second question because in the process, I’ll answer the first: In my opinion, there is no such thing as a first draft that is too long.
Terry Pratchett famously said, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” There is no word-count limit on that. You get to tell yourself everything. Will it be necessary in the final version? You won’t know for certain until you finish the draft.
Overwriting is usually discussed as something to avoid. But in the drafting phase—especially early drafting—overwriting is often a sign that your creative process is working exactly the way it should. The writer needs more information than the reader does. A reader needs only what serves the final story; the writer needs everything necessary to create that story.
Most writers don’t know everything about their books upfront. You can’t. Inevitably, when you create these amazing characters, they’ll do things you didn’t expect. This is especially true for writers who prefer to “pants” their drafts, writing without an outline and letting the story develop naturally. Only through writing can these authors discover that a character has a quirk of never saying goodbye, hates Valentine’s Day, or had an imaginary friend they still miss. Even though this information may not end up in the final draft, it doesn’t mean writing it was a mistake. It may be essential for understanding who a character is, how they interact with the world, and why they do so in a particular way.
Even if you think of yourself as a planner or outliner, when you’re drafting, you’re building a story world from the inside out. You’re discovering your characters’ histories, exploring emotional patterns, and testing possibilities. That deep dive often requires more detail, more internal monologue, and more explanation than the reader will ever see. In the first draft, you’re not writing a book; you’re writing to understand the book you’re trying to write.
When you find yourself writing three pages about the moment your protagonist picks up a cup of coffee, for example, you may actually be:
- uncovering a wound you haven’t fully articulated yet;
- exploring the character’s motivations from multiple angles;
- getting closer to the emotional truth beneath the scene;
- practicing the voice, rhythm, or tone of the book; or
- finding the heart of what the scene is really about.
That all matters. And even if almost none of it stays in the final version, it is worth writing. The draft is the discovery phase. It can and should be messy. Revision is the clarity phase. But you can’t get there without the mess. (Sorry.)
Not everything you write in a draft will be necessary for the reader. However, almost everything you write is necessary for you, the author. You need to know this, write this, experience this, and learn this about your characters and the journey they are on, and only by getting to The End will you know what can and should be deleted. In subsequent drafts, editors, beta readers, and you will trim what’s unnecessary and meet the expected word count for your genre. Let your first draft be for you. Once you know the story, you’ll be able to revise it for your reader.
Have a question about writing that only a book coach can answer? Send it to feedback@indieauthormagazine.com, and your message may become the topic of a future article in the series!
Rona Gofstein
