The first draft is supposed to be bad — Kelford Labs Daily

Because you’re supposed to rewrite it.

Feb 11, 2026
The first draft is supposed to be bad — Kelford Labs Daily

In creative conversations, between copywriters and art directors, or on screenwriting teams, or within author circles, you’ll often hear someone say:

“Okay, bad idea, but what if...”

Or, “I know this is terrible, but...”

Or, “So not this exactly, but what about...”

Creative types know that the first idea is supposed to be bad.

So they often announce it upfront, to say, in essence, “Don’t judge this on its quality, judge it on its potential to become something better.”

And this is how I want you to start thinking about your marketing content.

I want you to recognize that the LinkedIn post you can’t bring yourself to publish is bad because it’s supposed to be.

That’s what the first draft is for. The problem is not doing the second draft. Not editing. Not waiting.

That piece of marketing content you wrote but hate is doing its job.

Now, you’ve got to do the next part of yours:

Rewrite it.


Kelford Inc. shows you the way to always knowing what to say.