Writing Life

I have been at this writing malarkey, full time, for just over three months now. I thought I knew what I was doing, I thought it was just about sitting down and writing. Oh how naïve I was. I have learnt more in the last few months that I have in my thirty *cough mumble* years previous.

Did you know that if you plan on selling your finely crafted novel to a foreign market you might come unstuck if it’s too long? An English book translated to German will be 30% longer; I had never even considered that might be an issue.  That’s not really what I mean though. Sure I have learnt lots of industry tidbits that I am sure will come in useful further down the line but what I am really talking about is my own process.

Before I started this journey I had some very specific opinions about my writing process and what worked for me. If I hadn’t taken the time to dedicate myself solely to the purpose of writing, I think I could very well have continued to hold those opinions. I probably would have blamed my lack of progress on the fact I didn’t have time to write, and not seen that I wasn’t managing my own blocks.

Before I started writing full time I would have insisted to anyone who asked that I am not a planner. I could not possibly plan where my work is going, it destroys the creative process. Wrong, oh how wrong could I be? I have been stuck for a long time, waffling about the same scene, not really saying anything, totally unaware that what was happening was that my luck of planning was forcing me to write myself into a corner.

Sure I knew roughly where I was going, but I didn’t know how I was getting there or most importantly why. The last three months have reinforced the importance of the why. Without the why, there is no story. For someone who isn’t much of a hopeless romantic in real life I have definitely been one about my writing. If it is mean to be it will just happen, it’s a talent you have or you don’t, not a skill you learn. What nonsense.

I have come to the firm belief that anyone can write a perfectly good, publishable book. You have to care enough to put the effort in to actually write it, which means that anyone likely to achieve it does have to have a passion for writing and the talent to keep plugging away for 100,000 words.

Just writing away without paying attention to the skill and craft of storytelling however, is pointless. You might be able to write all those words, but if the words don’t take you anywhere, what is the point? You have to practise the skill; you have to critically look at where your story is going and why. You have to be aware of your themes, not just assume they’ll happen, even if just to stick to the same one and not confuse your reader.

I’ve been doing this for three months and the most important thing I have learnt is that writing is like anything else, if you close your mind, you won’t get anywhere.