Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The Art of Not Writing


When I was first getting serious about my writing, it seemed like all the advice I heard was write, write, write. As long as you kept writing, everything would be okay. Fast draft. Don’t think too hard. Just get it out. You can always revise later.

If I got stuck, I would just push through. I’d write something, anything, to get to the other side, to the end.

I wrote pretty decent beginnings, but my endings were (you guessed it) were downright awful.

I produced two drafts of two different novels like that, and by the end, I realized they had so many structural issues; they were nearly unfixable.

That’s when I started doing something different. When I got stuck, really stuck, I stopped writing. I might switch to another document and start brainstorming. Sometimes I’d stop and write in my journal. But I didn’t keep going with the scene.

If I was stuck, I realized, it was my subconscious telling me something. This scene wasn’t working. I knew it on a deep level, even if I couldn’t verbalize it.

Sometimes I work on another manuscript, read for fun, eat lots of chocolate, or watch entirely too much Netflix.

Usually I feel a pang of guilt: but I’m not writing! But there is no timer, no race, no arbitrary finish line. I’ve learned from experience that rushing doesn’t create good writing.

Invariably when I step away, if I am just patient and wait, the inspiration comes. It’s a step of faith.

But my writing is better for the waiting.
If I were to give one piece of advice to my younger writer self, it would be: Don’t rush.

I give permission for this to be used in the ISWG analogy under the writing category.

11 comments:

  1. That's great advice. When I get stuck or am too busy to write, I just read more for inspiration.

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    1. Yes, I love to read for inspiration too. It always gets me fired up about writing again.

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  2. My husband calls that "putting it on the backburner." It can really be helpful to step away and let your subconscious work on things without you. :-)

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    1. So true. It really is amazing how quickly the breakthroughs come when you step away.

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  3. There really is something to the methodology of taking a break. For me (as long as I don't do it for too long), a writing break is like opening a window and letting fresh air in.

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    1. I LOVE that analogy. Fresh air always helps! :)

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  4. I do think the most inspiring thoughts come when we aren't "trying!"

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  5. Excellent point! I do the same thing when I get stuck... I step back... but sometimes I step back too far and let my momentum fall off with writing in general. Learning to journal through the stuck parts, do writing exercises to play with different ideas, etc but keep working, not necessarily writing, if that makes sense. You can't rush the final product.

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    1. Yes, I sometimes find it hard to come back. And I've gone through stages where all I could do was journal. But no matter how it goes, every break makes me more refreshed.

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  6. Great post! I'd love to write, write, write and push through all the time etc. But sometimes taking a small break really does help. Hope you're having a great week!
    Ninja Girl

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