Stuck on the First Sentence? Give Yourself a Draft to React To

Make the first step small enough to try

You know you need to write an email. You know roughly what it should say. But you keep staring at the first sentence, trying to find the right way in.

In the workshop, I explained that I find it easier to judge a piece of writing once I have something to look at. I do not need to perfect every instruction before seeing a first attempt. I can read it and say what fits, what sounds wrong and what needs to change.

That is the habit to try here. Ask for a small, ordinary draft. Give yourself something you can respond to. You are still responsible for deciding whether it says the right thing.

Choose a task you understand well enough to check: a reminder, a meeting follow-up or an opening paragraph. Save the larger document for later. The first useful result might be three sentences.

Start with something you can respond to

What to notice: Joe describes reducing the effort of getting started by asking for a draft and discussing it. His cognitive-burn phrase is a personal description, not a medical claim; keep the review step.

0:43. From The One-Person AI Business, 51:15.44–51:58.84.

Visual context: Joe talks through asking for a first draft while a shared document is visible. His examples and explanation are spoken.

Start with what you already know

You do not need a polished brief. Give the AI the reader, the purpose and the facts that must survive. If a detail is unknown, tell it to leave a visible placeholder.

For this exercise, use the fictional notes below. The person, event and wording are authored practice material, not a real message or an output from the workshop.

Turn these notes into a friendly reminder email of about 80 words.
Use only the facts in my notes. Keep the event time and location exactly as given.
Ask participants to bring notes about one project.
Do not add deadlines, promises, refreshments or requirements.
Use [CONTACT] where a contact name is needed.
Give me one draft and one subject line.

This prompt is deliberately plain. It names enough of the job to get started and leaves the missing fact visible. You can use everyday language like this when you describe your own task.

Read it as the person who will receive it

Here is a deliberately flawed, authored example to practice reviewing. It is not a recorded AI response.

You can spot several problems without being a professional editor. The notes ask for project notes, not a completed plan. They do not require an early arrival. They do not promise an outcome or identify the office as the contact. The opening also sounds more promotional than this reminder needs.

Now you have something specific to say. The response has helped expose your preferences, but it has also introduced facts you need to remove. That is why reading the answer matters.

Make this a straightforward reminder for people who already registered.
Change “completed project plan” to “notes about one project you want to work on.”
Remove the early-arrival requirement and the promise of success.
Use [CONTACT] for questions because the contact is not confirmed.
Keep Thursday, 10–11 a.m. and Room 3 unchanged.

Make it sound like something you would send

A checked version could look like this. This example is also authored for the exercise.

It is shorter than the requested 80 words. That is fine here: the length was a guide, and the message does the job. You do not need to add filler to satisfy an approximate word count.

Before sending, replace the contact placeholder and confirm which Thursday the message means. In a real reminder, an exact calendar date may prevent confusion. The practice notes did not supply one, so the draft should not invent it.

Read the message aloud to yourself if that helps you hear the tone. Change any phrase you would never use. You can edit the sentence directly; you do not have to ask AI to perform every small correction.

Decide what “finished” means for this task

A short reminder needs accurate arrangements and a clear request. It does not need the most memorable opening anyone has ever written. Give yourself a finish line so the conversation does not turn into endless rewriting.

• Facts: Are the time, location and request correct?
• Purpose: Can the reader tell what they need to do?
• Voice: Does this sound like a message I would send?
• Gaps: Have I resolved every placeholder and unsupported claim?

If those checks pass, you may have enough for this task. More consequential writing needs more review. A first draft of a proposal, for example, does not establish that its evidence, costs or commitments are sound.

If the answer is too long to review, make the task smaller: Give me just the opening paragraph, or List the three points this email needs to cover. If you cannot tell whether a claim is accurate, go back to the source or someone who can confirm it.

Get one useful draft on the page today

Pick one piece of writing you have been putting off. Write down the reader, the purpose and three facts. Ask for a short draft, then make one concrete correction before asking for anything else.

The test is whether the draft helps you see your next move. You might keep most of it, use only one sentence or decide it showed you exactly what you do not want. Any of those can move the work forward.

This is a practical writing habit, not a promise that everyone will find writing easier in the same way. My workshop comments describe my own preference for reacting to a draft. You decide whether it helps with your task.

Once you have text worth keeping, use the lesson on changing one part without rewriting everything. If the draft keeps misunderstanding your purpose, return to the conversation about what AI understands before making the assignment bigger.

Questions that come up

About this lesson

Source-grounded editorial adaptation of Joe McKenna’s workshop, based on the machine transcript rather than independently verified audio. The source supports Joe’s preference for evaluating output, ordinary-language changes and getting a draft started. His personal grant-writing anecdote is not repeated as a verified achievement or generalized evidence. The reminder notes, flawed draft, corrected draft, prompts and finish-line checklist are authored practice additions. No direct quotation, medical claim, accessibility guarantee or observed learner outcome is presented.

Source passages: 32:14–32:34; 46:32–47:06; 50:53–52:03. Source: The One-Person AI Business, September 29, 2026.

AI-assisted organization and supplementary examples. Prepared from Joe McKenna’s workshop.