The pros and cons of dashing through your first draft

There are, naturally, lots of ways to go about writing the first draft of a novel, but there do seem to be two distinct schools of thought on the matter. First there is the school of thought that says you should just push through the first draft as quickly as you can, because it’s afterwards that the real work starts. Then there is the other thought that you should take your time over it, get to know your story before you plough in and don’t scrimp on quality just because it’s a first run through.

So what should it be? What are the pros and cons of dashing through your first draft?

One of the big pros of blitzing your way through that initial draft has to be that it gets the blasted thing done sooner. It might not be perfect – it might not really be that good at all – but there will be something there for you to work with, and you can relax for a short while, knowing that you’ve at least got the bare bones of your story there on the page.

There’s also the fact that if there does turn out to be a massive problem with your story that will basically require you to start all over again, it’s always nice to know sooner rather than later. It also helps you to get the story straight in your head, so even if you are in for months of major rewrites after the end of draft one, at least you’ll have a better idea of where you’re going and what you’re trying to do.

On the other hand, the ‘con’ school of thought suggests that you should have a good idea of where you’re going with the story in the first place, and that it’s worth taking your time over the draft so you can get it right first time around. There’s a chance that when dashing for the finish line, you end up with nothing so much as a big, long, irrelevant ramble. You’re less likely to have to start the thing again if you’ve carefully thought it through while writing the first draft.

Which is it to be? There is clearly a need to strike a balance here, but like so much else with writing, the issue is not clear cut. What are your thoughts? Do you favour writing the first draft as fast as you can, or do you like a more measured approach to the whole affair?