The Minimum Viable Draft
One of the hardest things about writing isn’t writing. It’s starting.
You sit there with an idea buzzing in your head, but the moment you try to write it down, it feels like it has to be perfect. Like you need the whole thing figured out before you begin. So you freeze. Or worse—you never start at all.
That’s why I want to introduce you to something simple but powerful: the Minimum Viable Draft.
You’ve probably heard of a Minimum Viable Product, or MVP. It’s the smallest version of a product that’s still useful—not perfect, just real enough to test and build on. A Minimum Viable Draft is like that, but for ideas.
It’s not your final essay. It’s not a big theory. It’s just the first shape your idea takes outside your head. A small, unfinished version that captures the essence, so it doesn’t float away.
Let me show you why that matters.
1. You Actually Start
Most people wait until they feel “ready.” But the truth is, no one really feels ready. Even experienced writers feel unsure when they begin something new. The MVD helps you start anyway. It lowers the bar. You don’t have to be brilliant—you just have to begin.
It might be a few bullet points. A half-formed paragraph. A title and a sketch. That’s enough. It’s not about being lazy. It’s about being honest. You can’t refine an idea until it exists.
2. You Find Out What You’re Really Thinking
People think writing is about putting down what you already know. But most of the time, writing is how you figure it out. That’s the trap of waiting to feel ready: you forget that thinking and writing are actually the same process.
A Minimum Viable Draft gives you something to think with. Like scaffolding for an unfinished building. You start to see what’s missing. What stands up. What sparks something new.
3. You Give Yourself a Way Back
Here’s a secret: I rarely finish things in one sitting. But I always leave something behind that I can return to. That’s another gift of the MVD—it’s a landing pad. You’re no longer facing a blank page.
You can return tomorrow, or next week, or a year from now. But the spark is still there. Your own earlier thinking left a trail.
4. You Can Share It Without Pretending
Sharing your work can feel scary. Especially if you think it has to be polished. But an MVD is not pretending. It’s saying, “Here’s what I see so far—what do you see?”
That opens the door. Not just for feedback, but for collaboration. If you only ever show perfect things, you miss out on all the ways ideas grow with others.
How to Make One
So what goes in a Minimum Viable Draft?
Just enough to give the idea shape:
- A working title (even if it’s strange)
- One or two sentences that say what it’s about
- A few bullet points or rough fragments
- Maybe a question or two you’re still exploring
That’s it. That’s your draft. That’s your idea—captured, not just imagined.
Start Small. But Start.
The best ideas don’t arrive fully formed. They start as glimpses. Whispers. Half-sentences you scribble in a notebook.
The Minimum Viable Draft is how you catch them—before they drift away.
It’s not about impressing anyone. It’s about capturing the moment when an idea becomes real. So you can return to it. So others can build on it. So it doesn’t get lost.
Write one. Not later. Now.