5 Steps To Effortlessly Write A First Draft

...of anything

Ahoy Digital Writers!

The secret to bringing your writing ideas to life is free yourself from the pressure of perfection and write a terrible first draft.

Most new writers makes the mistake of beginning with the first word and then they continue writing in a linear fashion, without stopping, until they reach the conclusion. However, writing isn’t linear. Writing is iterative.

When you write a first draft, the ONLY think you need to worry about is getting your ideas on the page.

Ann Lamott shared this timeless advice for writers in her famous book "Bird by Bird."

• “The first draft is the down draft—you just get it down."

• "The second draft is the up draft—you fix it up."

• "And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth."

If you attempt to do all three in a single sitting, you end up spending more time than you need, which is a recipe for frustration.

Now, let’s walk through getting your “draft down” in 5 simple steps—writing with AI along the way.

5 Simple Steps To Write A First Draft

Now that the pressure is off, let’s write a sh*tty first draft!

Step #1: Begin With The End In Mind

Get clear on exactly who your target reader is, what you want to say to them, and why they will find it compelling. Map out exactly what you want the reader to think & feel when they read your content.

In Ship 30 for 30, we call this Pinpoint Writing: using specificity to gain clarity as to who exactly your target reader is (by answering the following questions):

• What problem am I solving?

• Whose problem am I solving?

• What emotion am I creating?

• What action am I encouraging?

• What benefit am I unlocking?

From here, your writing is simple.

Because you’ve done 80% of the thinking.

Sometimes it helps to have someone ask you these questions. So, we created a prompt for you. Give ChatGPT your topic and it will, ask you each question, challenge your biases, and even offer a new perspective to help you “pinpoint” your topic. In essence, it’s like having a writing mentor on speed dial.

Here’s the prompt:

Hello, ChatGPT!

Today, we are going to do an exercise I call “Pinpoint Writing.”

I want you to help me:
- Pinpont my point of view
- Refine my point of view
- And help me think clearly about a topic

Ultimately, I want to get clarity on 5 things:

1. What problem am I solving?
2. Whose problem am I solving?
3. What benefit am I unlocking?
4. What emotion am I creating?
5. What action am I encouraging?

You will help me test the strength of my topic, identify underlying assumptions, examples, values, influences, etc. Feel free to play devil's advocate. Follow the direction of the conversation naturally. You can ask a variety of surface level, straightforward, and challenging questions to push my thinking.  Point out inconsistencies or contradictions you find along the way. We don't need to dive too deep into psychology.

I will respond in brief or in depth.

I only want 1 question at a time, so that I can focus. You can ask follow up questions after each answer.  I may ask you to pause along they way to summarize. We will continue until I say stop or I ask you to summarize.

To start, I will give you the topic I want to focus on.

Are you ready?

ChatGPT will ask you for a topic. Use the template below to organize your thoughts. Then, provide the filled-out template as your input for ChatGPT.

Template: After reading this post, [reader] will realize [promise/benefit], so they can [desired action / belief / thought / emotion]. The reason the [reader] can trust me is because [credibility].

For example: After reading this post, violinists will know the first 3 steps to start a wedding soloist business, so they can get their first gig as a freelance classical musician. The reason they can trust me is because I've done it myself.

After you have answered these questions, boil your ideas down into the following simple copywriting framework:

“How To {Outcome} Without {The Obstacle}”

For example:

• How To Write A First Draft Without The Pressure Of Perfection

• How To Make Tons of Money Without Working 60 Hours Per Week

• How To Become A Writer Without Spending $120K On An English Degree

• How to Get Started As A Wedding Soloist Without Zero Business Experience

The majority of the time you spend on the first draft should be spent here.

The reason we begin with this framework is because all great writing helps the reader overcome a problem so they can achieve an outcome. If you can’t fill in the template, then you don’t know what you are writing about (yet). You need to figure that out FIRST in order to begin.

Use the “How To {X} Without {Y}” headline as the “North Star” for your first draft.

If you used ChatGPT for the last step, then you can follow up with the below “How To {X} Without {Y}” prompt and you’ll be on your way.

Great, now I want you to generate 10 article titles using the "How to X (without Y)" format.

"X" is the goal of the subtopic.

For example:
If the subtopic is "Developing a training plan for first time marathoners."
Then the headline should be something like "How to develop a training plan without Y"

"Y" will be common obstacles people would face or objections as to why they wouldn't be able to accomplish "X."

For example:
If the subtopic is "Developing a training plan for first time marahoners."
And "X" is "develop a training plan."
Then the headline should be something like "How to develop a training plan without spending all your time on it"

Step #2: Bullet-Point Brain Dump

Now that you know where you are going, it’s time to get everything out of your head.

• Set a timer for 10 minutes

• Write down all the main ideas you want to cover

• Even random or seemingly unimportant concepts

Use bullet points to organize your thoughts and make them easier to read. Again, don't worry about grammar, spelling, or structure at this stage. Keep writing until the timer goes off.

Take a break if you need to and walk around for a few minutes to clear your mind. Then go back to your list and start grouping similar ideas together.

For example:

Step #3: Develop (More) Headline Ideas

After you have completed your bullet-point brain dump, review your list of main ideas and ensure that each one still aligns with the "North Star" you came up with in Step 1. If any of your ideas no longer align, revise or remove them.

Now brainstorm at least 5 more headline ideas.

Focus on crafting short, concise, and attention-grabbing headlines that accurately reflect the points in your article.

Iterate until you find one that you like and choose the best one.

You can do this in your notes or you can paste your brain dump into ChatGPT. Ask it to help you create 25 different headline variations using the following prompt: