Nobody’s first draft is the good one. The good one is hiding in the rewrite you didn’t want to do.

A first draft exists to find out what you are actually trying to say. It is supposed to be clumsy, because you are thinking and writing at the same time. The version worth reading comes from the pass you resist, where you cut the lines you were proud of and fix the ones you hoped nobody would notice.

Build that second pass into the plan instead of treating it as a sign something went wrong. Finish early enough to leave the draft alone for a day, then read it the way a stranger would. Mark what is unclear before you make anything prettier.