The first draft is never what publishes

You may be asking what an airport departures status board has to do with writing first drafts and what happens to them. It’s a fair question. But they have far more in common than you might think.

This past week, what has been on my mind as I’ve been sitting with Cooper North and his story is the plot twists we all face.

The question that began these ruminations was this: “What happens when what was working stops working?”

What that basically comes down to is the difference between the story and the plot.

The plot is what happens.

The story is what it means.

When a plot twist occurs, the plot changes. But the story’s purpose doesn’t necessarily change at all.

In fact, the best plot twists often happen because the original plot is no longer serving the deeper story.

That’s true in fiction, in business, and in life.

Let’s take Cooper as an example.

Originally, perhaps the story appeared to be about saving a struggling consulting firm. The plot was built around that problem. But as I’ve written, I’ve discovered that isn’t really what the book is about.

At its core, the book is about identity and purpose.

It’s about what happens when achievement stops answering the questions it once answered.

As I’ve gotten deeper into the manuscript, the plot has had to shift to support the actual story.

It’s a parable about business, but it spills over to our lives as well. That becomes clearer with every conversation I have with founders.

A founder believes they know what the story is. Then the plot twists.

Marketing stops working. Referrals dry up. The market changes. Perhaps AI is starting to show up more as a disruption or threat than as something promising. A key team member or customer leaves. Something shifts, or a crisis arises in their personal life.

At first, it feels like the story is falling apart. But often what’s actually happening is that the plot is forcing the founder to confront the deeper story:

• Who are we now?

• What are we actually here to do?

• What still matters?

• What must change?

• What shouldn’t?

The old plot can’t carry the next chapter.

A plot twist is not evidence that the story is over. It may be evidence that the story is trying to become more itself.

Which brings me back to the flight status board.

When we leave our homes or offices to go on a trip, we have a very clear idea of what that trip is going to look and feel like. We have a timetable, we have an itinerary, and we have it all mapped out from when we depart until we return.

But just like the writer’s first draft, the travel plan is never the actual trip we end up taking.

We arrive at the airport, and, even with any updates we can get right on our phones, the first thing we’re still going to do is check our flight. Is it still on time? Are there delays? Has it (dreaded drum roll) been canceled?

My daughter, who lives in Alaska and travels frequently with her daughters, will tell you that the longest part of many trips is often the stretch between arriving at the airport and finally buckling into your seats on the plane.

We experience the same stretch of holding our breath in so many places and in so many ways.

In life, we also face those times when something that was working stops working. It could stem from places, or people, or just life itself.

And, of course, businesses are always in a state of flux because of the factors surrounding them that are constantly evolving in ways beyond their control. The strategy that helped the business launch will undoubtedly not be the one that sustains it.

As a writer, I participate in this particular conundrum every time I turn the page to keep the story moving forward. With this book, I can tell you that the story has taken on new directions, sometimes with every writing session.

It doesn’t mean that the story itself is changing. Not in life, business, or writing.

It has sent me back to my guiding question: What does this make possible?

Even a plot twist.

What does this plot twist make possible?

What I’ve discovered is that the plot twists that matter most aren’t the ones that change the ending.

They’re the ones that help the story keep its original promise.

A map can go out of date and no longer be relevant. That doesn’t mean you can’t still get to where you’re going.

Most founders aren’t facing a lack of effort. They’re facing a plot twist. They’ve discovered their most trusted map is now out of date.

I vividly remember a road trip I took in the early days of having GPS in our cars. The mapping part was originally loaded as software running locally. It wasn’t getting all of the wonderful satellite updates to the maps we get today. So new roads, closures, traffic re-routing – all of the things we really need to know about weren’t part of the story the GPS was telling us.

I was going through a city I didn’t know and following the GPS instructions when the road I was on came to an end. A rather abrupt end. It turned out that there had been a major issue with that particular highway, and they had to close it. The very guidance system I thought would take me right to where I needed to go instead took me to a dead end.

We face some version of this all the time.

As founders on a journey, we are entering new stages, and so are our businesses. Yet we’re often still trying to run on the old software.

The temptation is to force the old plot to keep working, but the opportunity is to more fully understand the story.

What I’m encountering in my own life and hearing from others is that we spend so much time trying to avoid plot twists that we overlook the fact that every meaningful story requires them.

Without the twist, there is no growth.

Without the disruption, there is no discovery.

What I love about all of this is that the plot twist isn’t what threatens the story. It’s what reveals it. That’s what it essentially makes possible. We get to see the story that was there all along, just waiting for its chance to shine.

Going back to Cooper North, if you’ve been following the story, you can see that without the moment when he realized that what was working had stopped working, Cooper would never have walked into Ellis’s bookstore. He would never have embarked on the journey the journal takes him on, one that ultimately changes his business and his life.

So, what’s going to happen with Cooper’s story next?

The truth is, I don’t quite know all the details yet, but I do know there are likely still a few plot twists ahead that will help the story keep finding its way.

Perhaps that’s true for all of us.

The first draft of a book is never what publishes.

The first draft of a business is never what endures.

The first draft of a life is never what unfolds.

How about you?

Where have you experienced an unplanned plot twist either in your life or business?

I’d love to hear about it. How you navigated it or are even navigating it now.

Drop me a direct message, and we’ll schedule a time to chat.

If you are new to The Possibility Factor, this publication offers a behind-the-scenes look each week at the book I’m currently writing under the same working title.

Our central character is Cooper North, a business owner at a crossroads who is learning that much of what he thought he knew is no longer giving him the answers he needs. We are following his journey as he learns to ask better questions.

Note: You can find the earlier chapters and reflections collected here: The Possibility Factor.