Five mistakes that show up in almost every first draft

A first draft is meant to be rough. Its job is to exist. These five problems turn up so often that it is worth checking for them in yours.

1. Starting too early

Many drafts spend the first chapter clearing their throat. The writer describes the weather, the character's morning, their history. The real story starts on page ten.

Try this: find the first moment where something actually happens, or where the reader gets curious, and see if the book can begin there. You can slip the background in later, in small pieces.

2. Explaining too much

Writers worry that the reader will not understand, so they say everything twice. A character cries, and then the narrator tells us she is sad. A joke lands, and then we are told it was funny.

Trust the scene. If the reader can work something out, leave it for them to work out. They enjoy it.

3. Everyone talks the same way

Read your dialogue with the names covered. Can you tell who is speaking? If all your characters use the same vocabulary and the same sentence length, they blur together. A teenager, a grandmother and a shopkeeper should not sound alike.

4. Nothing is at stake

A scene needs someone who wants something and something in the way. If a conversation is just two people exchanging information, it will feel flat. Ask what each person wants from the scene, and whether they get it.

This applies to non-fiction too. Each chapter should answer a question the reader actually has.

5. Repeating favourite words and gestures

Every writer has tics. Characters nod, sigh, shrug, smile and look away far too often. Certain words turn up on every page. The first time you notice, it is a little shocking.

Use the search function to count a few suspects. Words like "just", "very", "suddenly", "really" often appear dozens of times without adding anything.

How to look for them

• Put the draft away for two weeks. Do not skip this.
• Read it on paper, or in a different font on screen. A changed look helps you see it fresh.
• Read it out loud. The places where you stumble are the places to fix.
• On one pass, look for only one problem. Trying to catch everything at once catches nothing.

And then keep going

Do not fix all of this while you write. Finish the draft first. You cannot repair a chapter that does not exist, and many problems solve themselves once you know how the book ends.