Indie Publishing Guide: John Wayne Was Right--Tips For When The Writing Isn't Going Well
In learning about the business side of publishing, I've confirmed something that I always knew was true: Creative Writing is difficult work. More so than the business and marketing end. (Business and marketing is work, and it can be hard, but nowhere near as difficult as the creative end.)
That's not to say creative writing is a chore. It's not, and I love it. Especially the good days. These are the days when the dialog, description, and plot seems to roll off my fingers, and I feel unstoppable. I'd say those come more often than not. But then there are also those days when the ideas just don't come to me, when I spend an hour or two writing and writing but barely make it through four or five pages, or when I've written a lot, but nothing I come up with works. The dialog is stale, the description cliche', and the plot boring and meandering, and it makes more sense to just drop the project altogether than try to push forward.
But that's not really an option. Sure, there are some projects that just don't work. But the time to asses that isn't in the drafting stage, and that's really what I'm talking about. If you've written eight drafts of a novel and it fails, then maybe you might consider dropping it. But when you're just starting it, if you're on the first draft, quitting before you even get something resembling a first draft should not be an option.
My students want to do this all the time. Granted, they're just learning about the process of writing, and some of them don't want to work. However, the ones to are really invested get frustrated if their drafts don't live up to their expectations. Here's what I tell them: the draft is just something to work on. You won't know if it's good until much later. It's like being a sculptor. First you have to take that block of marble, or clay, or whatever it is sculptors use, and get it into a something somewhat resembling the final product. That's your draft. You'll chip away here, chip away there, shape, mold, and perfect the thing later. Give yourself something to work with first, though, and don't even think about assessing its worth yet.
Will the writing always go well? Nope. Malcom Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to master something, and Colin Powell said this about grit: "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." (I would have put his name in the title, but John Wayne makes better copy, so I settled for an analogy).
Powell's right. So is Malcom Gladwell. But that doesn't mean that somewhere along the way the work doesn't become frustrating to the point where giving up might be an option. So here are some tips and suggestions for when you feel like throwing it all of your hard work away.
Next up: Perfectionism. The creativity killer.
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
That's not to say creative writing is a chore. It's not, and I love it. Especially the good days. These are the days when the dialog, description, and plot seems to roll off my fingers, and I feel unstoppable. I'd say those come more often than not. But then there are also those days when the ideas just don't come to me, when I spend an hour or two writing and writing but barely make it through four or five pages, or when I've written a lot, but nothing I come up with works. The dialog is stale, the description cliche', and the plot boring and meandering, and it makes more sense to just drop the project altogether than try to push forward.
But that's not really an option. Sure, there are some projects that just don't work. But the time to asses that isn't in the drafting stage, and that's really what I'm talking about. If you've written eight drafts of a novel and it fails, then maybe you might consider dropping it. But when you're just starting it, if you're on the first draft, quitting before you even get something resembling a first draft should not be an option.
My students want to do this all the time. Granted, they're just learning about the process of writing, and some of them don't want to work. However, the ones to are really invested get frustrated if their drafts don't live up to their expectations. Here's what I tell them: the draft is just something to work on. You won't know if it's good until much later. It's like being a sculptor. First you have to take that block of marble, or clay, or whatever it is sculptors use, and get it into a something somewhat resembling the final product. That's your draft. You'll chip away here, chip away there, shape, mold, and perfect the thing later. Give yourself something to work with first, though, and don't even think about assessing its worth yet.
Will the writing always go well? Nope. Malcom Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to master something, and Colin Powell said this about grit: "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." (I would have put his name in the title, but John Wayne makes better copy, so I settled for an analogy).
Powell's right. So is Malcom Gladwell. But that doesn't mean that somewhere along the way the work doesn't become frustrating to the point where giving up might be an option. So here are some tips and suggestions for when you feel like throwing it all of your hard work away.
Next up: Perfectionism. The creativity killer.
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
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