The writer who doesn't write

The writing process, writing advice, and updates on your work in progress
Post Reply
shelbysimpson
Posts: 2
Joined: December 1st, 2015, 1:31 pm
Contact:

The writer who doesn't write

Post by shelbysimpson » December 1st, 2015, 5:35 pm

I have first-post-jitters, but herrrrreeeee weeeee goooooo. Gulp...

Hello out there. I'm a writer. I write everything from 30-word reviews to 300-ish page books, but for years it wasn't that way.

Books are hard to write. I don't think book writing comes naturally to a lot of people, or at least it doesn't to me, because I'm a social monkey. Burying myself behind my computer for one project, over and over again for months on end, is about as appealing to me as making love to a cactus. That's why, for many years, writing a book was simply out of my reach—even though it was the only thing I felt I was put on this planet to do. So, to remedy my problemo:

I bought books about book writing. Read 'em.

I bought DVD's about book writing. Watched 'em.

I talked to authors about book writing. Listened.

Basically, I got my learn on—hardcore.

And then I took all that knowledge and...went out drinking. I wrote notes instead of pages. I had enough notes about "my book" to wrap Earth up for Christmas. I must have started "my book" at least seven hundred and eighty-two times, but I never stuck with it. I'd get 50 pages in and abandon ship, and this was super weird, because I wanted to finish it soooooo badly. I obsessed about finishing that damn book. I drooled on it's imaginary pages.

Then...finally...after years of bullshitting myself and my friends too many times and hearing myself say the same pathetically false statement, "Well, when I finish my book..." something happened.

I had a serendipitous run-in with a woman at a pen counter. She noticed my tattoo. I told her it was from New Zealand, and that led to us discussing her travels. She's a writer. I told her I was a writer too but that I wanted to write books and I was having a hard time doing it.

And that's when she told me that books are different. They take a process. I had to learn that process or else..well...not write books.

For me...she was right.

I think books are a different animal. They're layered. They can take years instead of weeks. There are tricks to making them good, and deeper tricks to making them great. All tricks take practice. Books rely on dedication and a belief system. You have to believe that what you're doing—the process—no matter how weird or off it feels, is working. And what is the process? Well...it's writing. Write every day.

I wish that years ago someone would have told me the following key components to the book writing process, so now I'm passing on what I know. I think these things work, but you can be the judge of that.

TO FINISH A BOOK:

1. Write every day and not for a length of time, BUT FOR WORD COUNT.
2. If you're new to writing long-form, pick a word count that doesn't burn—maybe something like 500 words. That's very doable for any writer.
3. Don't judge what you write. Just write.
4. Don't go back and rewrite what you've already written. Just write.
5. Don't go back and read what you've already written. Just write. Move forward. Editing—changing the plot/improving characters/adding and deleting...it all comes later.
6. It's okay to fear that what you've written doesn't make any sense or flow at all. It may or may not. Don't go back and look. Move forward. Write from the last place you stopped, and don't go back and check or change anything. Write new material. You can fix the structure later.
6. Get through your word count every day until you're finished with the entire book. If you miss a day of writing, forgive yourself, and then get back in the saddle.
7. If you feel like what you're writing is shit, it may or may not be. During the writing stage is not the time to judge. It's the time to write. All writers have bad days and good days, but they write regardless of how they're feeling. When you finish the writing stage and move onto the editing stage, I promise you won't be able to distinguish which day was good and which day was bad. Trust the process. Keep writing without looking back.
6. EDITING is a what happens when you're completely finished with writing—as in you type "THE END" and you stare at your manuscript and say, "Well hell YES!" Editing is a completely different animal to writing, so don't confuse them. They're separate. To succeed, you must keep writing and editing separate, or else you'll never finish writing. Edit only after you finish writing.

And that's that. Wah-lah.

If you're having trouble writing a book, I hope it all helps. It changed my world...I'm just sayin'.

Write. Write some more. blah-dee-blah blah

Shelby Simpson
author of Good Globe Time for a Change of Hemisphere

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests