Unpopular opinion: showing your first draft might be better than hiding it

I used to think keeping my rough draft secret until it was polished was the right move. But last week I sent a messy first draft of a letter to a friend who writes for a living. She pointed out I had been burying my main point under three paragraphs of filler for years. Now I wonder if sharing early saves more time than waiting. Which side are you on, do you keep drafts hidden until they shine or show them as soon as they exist? Has anyone else had a moment where showing raw work turned out better than waiting?

2 comments

2 Comments

david_fisher3715h ago

Raw is usually where the real stuff is at.

perez.mia43m ago

oh man YES absolutely. I did this exact thing with a work project proposal last month. I was so nervous to show my boss because it was basically bullet points and half finished sentences. But she actually loved seeing the messy part because it showed her where my brain was going. She helped me rearrange the whole thing before I spent hours making it sound pretty. If I had polished it first I would have had to redo so much work. Now I'm kind of addicted to showing the ugly version early. It feels vulnerable but it saves so much time and you get the good feedback when it still matters.