Just have fun. It sounds like the easiest thing in the world to do, yet it seems like something that's extremely hard for writers. But it's something that I believe is absolutely critical, because it makes every writers work better. So how do you do it?

    Let's start with some neuroscience, shall we? People's brains can be divided into two parts: the analytical, and the creative. Analytical is associated with the left brain and creative is associated with the right, though there's plenty of crossover between the two.

    When I say that writers need to have fun, I really am saying that they need to engage the creative parts of their brain while they write.

    You'd probably respond by saying 'no, duh'. It seems obvious.

    But yet, it's not, especially for newer writers. Part of the reason I think the "writing is hard" belief exists is because of this obstacle. A a new writer sits down to do some writing, and instead of engaging the creative part of their brain, they engage the critical part and start questioning themselves. Questions like:

        - Is everyone going to think this is crap?
        - Is this idea stupid?
        - Is the structure right?
        - Does this follow the correct formula?

    The writer then proceeds to stall out on those questions, crushing every creative idea they have under a wave of criticism until they give up. Then they start believing that writing is hard.

    Uh, NO.

    I said it in the last post, and I'll say it again. Write. Have fun. Instead of sitting in front of your computer, wondering where to begin, put your fingers to the keys and start typing. Let the words out, and let them take you where they will. You're creating a world: lose yourself in it.

    But wait! you'll say. My writing will be crap! There will be no structure, no plot, no theme, nothing that makes a story a story! It's just going to be a jumble of words on a bunch of pages!

    Actually, I think you might surprise yourself.

    Most (I'm tempted to say all) writers are readers. We've read hundreds or thousands of stories over the course of our lives, and our brains have subconsciously filed away every single one of them.

    What difference does that make? Well, the stories still exist in the subconscious of the writer, and the brain has grasped some of the nuances. By the time you're writing a novel your brain knows how to create a plot, knows how to create a narrative, and knows where themes come from, even if it's only on a subconscious level. After all, it's been trained for its entire life.

    When you engage the creative side of your brain, that subconscious knowledge helps to guide you along. It will tell you 'this is what should logically happen next in the plot', or 'this character should act this way'. That is what will give your story its shape and structure while you're engaging the creative part of your brain.

    To illustrate further:

    Writers can usually be divided into two different categories. The first are planners, who plan their writing out beforehand and follow a specific structure. The second are pantsers, who fly by the seat of their pants and make things up as they go.

    I happen to be a pantser on the extreme end of the scale.

    I'm currently about a third of the way through my fourth novel, and yet I still have almost no clue what I'm going to write when I start. I came up with almost everything on the fly, from characters to plots, to the running themes of the books. The only time I've ever tried to make a plan was in my third book, Fang , and that lasted a whole three chapters before I went off the rails. How was I able to do it? I let loose, dove into the world, and had a ton of fun. I wrote and then asked "where do I go from here?". Then I went there. Each novel was a journey, and they were all a blast.

    But you're still not sure? You're still afraid that you'll write crap? Let me say one more thing:

    Black Wolf is not actually my first novel. Over the course of several years, I wrote a novel. It was a struggle. The critical part of my brain kept holding me back, and I progressed slowly. I fought. I struggled. I clawed, and I fell down a lot. It was an endurance test, almost like a right of passage. To my younger self it felt like I had climbed a mountain.

    But it sucked. The writing was terrible, the plot was awful, and half the characters could be replaced with talking cardboard cutouts. It's never going to see the light of day.

    In contrast, I wrote Black Wolf in about a month. I kept the critical part of my brain from becoming overbearing, and I wrote. And at the end of it all, I looked back and saw how much fun I had writing it.

    Don't be afraid to write. Even if you write crap, you'll gain valuable experience. And that will make your next story that much better.

    So, you've followed my advice. You've taken the leap into the world of writing, and you've let your creativity run free. You have a manuscript ready. It's not perfect, but hey, after four or five drafts it'll be ready for prime time. I just need to do some rewrites, right?

    NO. No, no, no, no, no, no. NO.

    NO.


GIFSoup     I'll explain why in part 3.