Here’s how first drafts usually go for me: There is a voice in my head that has a lot of things to say about what I’m writing. The criticisms can be endless: this is not original enough; this doesn’t make sense scientifically; this is just plain lame; this is okay—but where’s the story going really, and on and on it goes.
So, I fight back against that voice and say: just leave that plot hole for now, or okay, okay, I’ll think about the tech more.
The back and forth between these two voices can be exhausting.
Lately, I try to listen more to the character’s voice and ignore the rest. If I can do that, I can at least stay somewhat on track with my first draft. I can at least get something down on paper to work with later. I remind myself that I can listen to the other voices when I’m editing.
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