The WDC NanoLounge

*hugs*

I know it seems strange to say it's okay to write too much but for a first draft, I promise that it's okay. When it comes to a story there are some things that you're right, the readers won't really need to be shown in explicit detail, like a long amount of backstory. However, as the writer, you need to know as much as possible about the story and if writing it all out helps, then go ahead.

I'll be an example. Last year I wrote a romance during nanowrimo. The main character doesn't meet the love interest until I think *looks it up* yikes, chapter 10. He's not even in the same state as the guy until chapter 6. Romance pretty much requires the meet up in some way in the first couple of chapters if not the first couple of pages. So, that's way too late. However, I gained a couple of things from writing out the details of what brought him to that point. I got to know the character more, got used to his voice, and I developed the backstory that I can later weave into later chapters as much smaller scenes in rewrites.

So, it's okay to have a little extra. It's the first draft. And as someone who has had to double a novel's word count in rewrite because it was way too short I can say, it's okay to write more than is needed in the first draft.