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# Kelford Labs Daily: Realistic writing doubt
- URL: https://kelfordinc.com/kelford-labs-daily-realistic-doubt/
- Published: 2024-04-10T10:34:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-27T15:24:00.000Z
- Description: On writing bad first drafts.
- Author: Joel Kelly
- Tags: Daily Labs, writing, persistence, books, practice

> “Experienced writers don't go into their first draft expecting perfection. They understand it's going to be messy, and often not that good.   
> …  
> A touch of realistic doubt keeps us on track and makes it more likely that we will persist.”  
>  
> — Steve Magness, Do Hard Things

Virtually every professional writer says the same thing: The first draft of anything is garbage.

**But that’s a *good* thing. Because it means you don’t have to stress over perfection, you can just write a bad first draft, study it, and then fix it.**

So the secret is to writing a LinkedIn post, copy for your homepage, advertisements, brochures—or anything else—is to keep writing all the way to the end, without aiming for perfection.

**In fact, you want a “touch of realistic doubt,” so you don’t expect it to be anything other than a bad first draft.**

That’s what will keep you writing—keep you on track and consistent—instead of giving up when the words aren’t working as well as you’d like them to.

Because once you have a bad first draft, you can review, edit, finesse, and polish until it’s as perfect as you need it to be.

📫

Feedback? Email labs@kelfordinc.com