BoM/TWS Message Forum

I don't want to pile too much on, but here's what I've learned over the last 10 years [*]

1. The only way to learn to write, is to write. Stories and words only become pliable if worked by the fingers. You've got to get them dirty.

2. Discipline can take you only a little way. Habit can take you further. But you must cultivate an itch that can only be scratched by the act of writing. Writing cannot feel like a punishment (which is what self-discipline makes it feel like), and if it's only a habit then it becomes dreary. You must feel drawn toward it the way you are drawn to anything else one is addicted to. Some people are born with this addiction, but for some people it is possible to cultivate it. Unfortunately, to cultivate it you must first pass through the stages where it is discipline that carries you forward, and then habit, before you arrive at addiction.

3. Writing is frequently painful, but it must be made as painless as possible or else you will invent reasons to not do it. For a start, find the kind of thing that you enjoy writing, and write that. As the doctor said in the punchline, "If it hurts to do that, don't do that," so too if you don't enjoy writing a certain kind of thing, don't try writing that kind of thing.

4. Find your process. This is probably the most important thing you can do. Writing, like exercise, is an activity, and if you do it in a way that causes pain, you will stop doing it. What do I mean by "process"? Unfortunately, that can only be answered with examples.

a. Improvisation vs. outlining: Some authors start writing on a blank sheet of paper and make it up as they go along. Others construct outlines first, then fill in the details.

b. Revising vs. cycling: Some authors write a first draft, then they go back and do multiple, front-to-back revisions. Others cycle back to revise as they go along, and when they finish the first draft they make no more revisions because all the revisions are already done.

c. Sitters vs. strollers: This sounds like a silly one, but it's real. Some authors can only write by sitting at a desk and focusing on the words and sentences to the exclusion of all else. Others wander or go for long walks, making it up and remembering as they stroll, and when they sit it's only long enough to write down the words as fast as they can.

d. Long-hand vs. word processor vs. recorder: Another one that sound silly, but is real. Some authors can only write with pencil or pen on paper in longhand. Others require a word processor. Others have to dictate and then transcribe.

e. Theory vs. intuition: Some authors thrive by mastering the theory of storytelling, for it gives focus to their creative urges. Others find those same creative urges stifled and suffocated if they try to concentrate on what they should be doing instead of just doing it.

Each of these processes combines with the others to form your unique process. You have to figure out which of these processes (and other processes I haven't mentioned) is easiest -- less painful for you -- and ignore anyone who tells you that one ought to do it in some other way. If you don't fit the process to your creative mind, it will be like racing a bicycle whose pedals are too close or too far away.

The really terrible thing is that the best advice   only starts to make sense after you have learned a lot more about how to write, at which point you will feel really stupid for not getting it earlier.

[*] And it feels like I've learned precious little, and done even less with it.