Don't Get it Right Get it Written First drafts are ugly. They're terrible. They usually don't make sense and aren't funny and have all kinds of weirdly-phrased sentences and terrible dialogue. And you know what? That's what they're supposed to have. Don't worry about spelling or character names or what your teacher-mother-best friend-boyfriend-counselor-or literary idol is going to think. Don't spend hours online looking up literary agents or publishers or thinking about what you want the cover to look like. Don't go onto writers boards and chat rooms and post your story idea and beg people to tell you if it's good or not—that's for YOU to decide. And your idea is valuable...don't go throwing it around. Don't tell everyone you meet about what a great movie your book will make...once it's written. Because that's not going to put a single word on the page. More detailed stuff is going to come, but that's the first—and in many ways the biggest—thing you need to know. Writers write. So write.   Go back to the For Writers page   Check out the Q & A with Ally