When it Comes to First Drafts, What Kind of Writer Are You?

If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend you check out Jennifer Wolf's recent blog post on Pantsers vs Outliners (i.e. the difference between people who write by the seat of their pants, and those who prefer to outline). It reminded me of a conversation I had this past weekend with the lovely Kristen Kittscher, who recently sold her middle-grade mystery. We were discussing the different ways one can write a first draft.

I also polled some of my Writing Night pals (thanks, Amy, Hope and Jen!) and they were split. One prefers to jump in and enjoy the discovery of seeing where the story goes; another prefers to outline, and the third does a combination of the two, depending on the project. Here are the different categories I believe people fall into when it comes to first drafts:

The Perpetual Starter - You have twenty stories you want to write, and none that you want to finish (this was me last year)

The Polisher - You rewrite the beginning 17,000 times before you feel "right" continuing (this is me now)

Quick Like a Bunny - You churn out 5,000 words a day for several weeks and have yourself a first draft within a month (sadly, I have never been this person and probably never will be)

The Jumper - You jump from scene to scene, writing your favorite or most important moments first, and then fill in the blanks later (I don't often do this, but I know it works for some)

I've come to accept the fact that I'm not a fast first-drafter. Sure, I have moments of "Must sit down and write this scene now! GO GO GO!" inspirational frenzies, but for the most part, I'm a Polisher, sometimes to my benefit and sometimes to my detriment.

When you write your first draft, do you fit into any of the categories above? Are there types that I'm missing?