Some people find writing painful. Sometimes the words just won’t come. It feels like creative constipation. You just wait, and wait, and wait. Or you strain and strain. And when you finally get something down on paper (no pun intended), you’re not happy with what you see anyway.
I suggest you simply…stop agonizing. I know, easy to say, hard to do. But give it a try. Stop trying to make every sentence, every word, every comma, the final answer. No one is looking over your shoulder, judging you. You haven’t failed because you think what you just wrote is junk. The good thing about a pencil is that it has an eraser. And your computer has a delete key. You can always change your mind later. And we writers often do. The important thing is to get the basic story down. Then you can delete, add and change to your heart’s content. However, there’s a saying that the creative process is never finished. You keep mulling something over and over. Fine tuning. Editing. Polishing. And that’s all a very good thing. But you need to know when enough is enough and it’s time to get your MS into production. If you’re happy with it, chances are your reader will be too.
After you’ve poured your heart and soul into something for a few days, weeks, or even months, if you still don’t think you have something worth bringing to your reader, maybe you just don’t have a story worth telling. It may be time to look for a new concept.
Of course, all of this is just my opinion. And you know what they say about opinions. You may have your own process that works perfectly fine for you. But if you are in a rut and can’t seem to get your vehicle out of first gear, let me tell you how I approach every book and see if this is helpful to you. Before I start a book, I know the story from beginning to end. Before I ‘put pencil to paper’ or sit down at the computer, I have a fairly complete idea of the outline and flow of the story. I am not saying I know all the twists and turns, I don’t, but I do know what I want the book to accomplish and how I want the reader to feel when it’s over. I know I will meet many characters along the way, just as in real life. I will learn many interesting facts from my research and I will find ‘gold nuggets’ I can use as I develop the story. I will ‘stumble over’ unexpected circumstances and new characters that I didn’t know would be there when I started. Many of these are a pleasant surprise to me. But I do know at the outset that I have a strong framework to which I can attach all the ‘gems’ I will pick up on my journey of discovery. Being excited about your story at the beginning is the propellant you need to carry you all the way to the exciting conclusion.
I always start with about 50 index cards. I write the main points, events, characters, relationships and chapters on the cards as an outline, right up to and including the ending. But I have found that when I get to about card number ten or twelve, I abandon the cards. I don’t need them any longer. I have lift under my wings and I am soaring. Not encumbered by the restriction of the cards, I am free as a bird to dart this way and that and have fun.
I have found that my best work comes very quickly. Like a spontaneous conversation with someone you like…when you just can’t stop talking and thoughts are tumbling out and ideas are flying. At this point, I don’t care about spelling, grammar, or even tense. I don’t want anything to interfere with, slow down, delay or get in the way of the free-flow of thoughts and words. I feel that if your work is slow and laborious, if you agonize over everything, your work will come out stilted, rigid and forced. And your reader will know it.
I usually write about 2,000 words per day. I don’t have a goal, or a minimum, or a maximum. One day I wrote 8,000 words. And some days I don’t write at all. But my mind is always working on my book. 24/7. This ‘thinking time’ is the most valuable part of the process. The part when not a word goes down on paper but the story is taking shape in my mind. When I think I have a firm grip on what I am doing, I sit down knowing my first sentence, my first paragraph, my first chapter.
But, again, I must say, I don’t agonize about any of this. If I get stuck at a certain part and I’m not sure how I should proceed, I just get up, walk away and think about it while I’m doing other things. It will come to me. There is no deadline (unless you have an agent and a publisher). There is no pressure. I am the only person who has read a word of my book. That even applies to my wife, Valerie. She reads the book after I have a manuscript completed. Then she makes her contribution by typing, editing, analyzing and offering constructive comments. All very, very valuable and essential stuff and always appreciated.
For me, fortunately, writing is the easiest part of the whole process. The production, after the manuscript is completed, is the hard, grueling, time-consuming part. A very important part.
Writing should be fun for you. Exciting. A rich learning experience for you and your readers. And until you have that finished manuscript in your hands, you are the only person you have to please. So stop agonizing. Relax. And enjoy the journey.