First Drafts

(This post originally appeared in full on my LinkedIn 9/22/2025)

First drafts are always shit.

Stick with me here.

I made Norwegian waffles, vafler, this Sunday for the first time. I used a cast iron stovetop waffle maker that has been in the Olsen family for close to 100 years.

I have some experience with these types of irons. I’ve been making krumkake, a special Norwegian cookie, for very long time now.

However, just because I have experience with a similar thing doesn’t mean I’m going to rock it on the first try.

My first few waffles were garbage. First the iron wasn’t hot enough (a mistake I also tend to make with the krumkake) and then I didn’t add enough batter. It’s also possible my baking powder is expired, which kept them from rising well. And I didn’t use enough butter before pouring.

Regardless of the reason, attempts one through three were bad, with the waffle sticking to the iron and/or burning. They definitely weren’t pretty. My family still ate them.

Once the iron heated up and I figured out how much batter and butter to use, they got better and better.

I remembered to use a skewer to get the waffle off the iron and thus not burn my fingers. I also figured out I needed two ladles of batter to fill the griddle.

The guys put brown cheese and lingonberry jam on top and set to. I had enough left over to bring some to work and share with the editorial team.

Can you guess where I’m going with this?

The story I’m working on now has been tougher to write than More Today Than Yesterday.

I hit a stretch of writer’s block that kept me stymied for months. Now that I finally powered through, the writing is different than I expected.

But I’m not giving up. Because the most important thing is to write until it’s done. First drafts are always shit, and editing (and rewriting) can fix almost anything.


For more information about me or More Today Than Yesterday visit amandadolsen.com

#amandawrites