RSS
Home
It's All About the Writing, Part 1
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Courtesy of Alvimann, morguefile.com
As I outlined in the my recent article on the phases of a writing career, the first phase should focus on writing. Not crafting perfectly polished prose that will cause agents to salivate and editors to bid exorbitant prices just for the privilege… No, just writing. It all begins with the writing.
One piece of advice consistently given to aspiring authors by published authors is simple, and somehow, also the most complex piece: write.
It comes in many variations:
- Writers write.
- PBICAFOK (or some very close variation), meaning “Put Butt In Chair and Fingers On Keyboard”.
- Serious writers write every day.
Fine. Seems simple enough. But this sage wisdom often leaves new writers with more questions than answers. Let’s address two of those questions today. Where does a new writer start and how does a writer start to write?
Where? A simple question deserves a simple answer: at the beginning.
Let me qualify that response by saying, as a writer, you start wherever the beginning is for you. It may not be the beginning of what is ultimately submitted to agents and editors, or even published, but however the story comes to you, that’s where you begin. Maybe you start at the end or in the middle and write backwards. Maybe you begin and write in a forward, very linear fashion. Maybe you write in a more circular way, with chapters out of order. Doesn’t matter as long as you write.
But how does one write? Is there a particular process one should employ?
Aspiring writers spend too much time fretting this, taking classes and trying to discover the secret to becoming a writer. There’s no secret. Go back to that first piece of advice. Writers write.
Are you a person who lives for organization? Perhaps you’ll plan out your entire story, with detailed character charts and plot outlines before you write even your first scene.
Maybe you like the freedom of not knowing exactly who your characters are or where they are headed. A “pantser” you’d be called. That’s okay too.
Then, there are people like me—probably way more in number than pure pantsers or pure plotters—who sort of muddle through in a hybrid mode. We start one way, than shift, and shift back, maybe plotting a little, then “pantsing” a little, and continue on in that vein until our story is finished.
Whatever process is comfortable for you, use it. If you don’t have a writing process, develop one. It’s really all trial and error until you find what works for you.
There are tons and tons of resources on writing processes—plotting methods, ways to develop character, getting from the beginning to the ending—and we’ll talk more about these in subsequent articles.
For now, just know that all you need to do is start. Write one word, then another, and another.
Write.
Next: What about writing schedules, tools, and a writing space?
Related Articles:
Comments
