Live Drafting and Learning in Public

Let's define "Live Draft"

Live drafting isn't new. A lot of authors go live with a facecam or run a podcast-style talk show while they work. Mostly to keep the novel hush hush. Which is fine. We need our secrets.

For me, live drafting means actually showing the writing as it happens.

How I do it differently

Most authors guard the manuscript so they don't spoil the book. I just don't stream the main novel at all.

I stream the stuff around it. Short stories, lore, what-ifs, canon-friendly expansions that didn't make the final cut. Same world, not the same plot.

Why I do it

Three reasons.

One, it's fun. Two, it's practice. Three, I wanted a way to nudge new writers — people who want to write but are scared they're not good enough to pick up the pen. Watching me typo a line, backspace, and keep going seems to help more than advice.

The whole thing is meant to be human. Show the mistakes. Answer questions if someone asks. Use the shorts to hype the novels themselves.

Be imperfect, but keep going.

"You become a writer by writing. There is no other way. So do it. Do it more. Do it again. Do it better. Fail. Fail better."

— Margaret Atwood

A note on spoilers and idea theft

People ask if I'm worried about someone stealing ideas. I'm not. Ideas are cheap. Execution is the work.

Streaming the lore also lets me test what lands before I lock the novel. If chat is bored by a piece of history, it probably doesn't belong in the book.

My loose rules

1. No main manuscript on screen, ever

2. Timer on for 25 minutes, chat off for those 25 (I rarely follow this one)

3. If I get stuck, I say it out loud instead of pretending to think

4. End the stream even if the story is half finished

The rules are there to keep me honest, not to make it pretty.

Enter Novlr

No surprise here. Novlr has been central to this. It's packed with features that let me focus on just the text — sprint timers, lore at my fingertips, popups when you hit goals that actually push you to keep going, and the ability to share work as it happens.

It's become home for all my writing. It's been a pleasure watching the platform grow.