YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER REVISITED

            This was one of my first articles, so I thought it worth a revisit, with major editing, given how much my writing has improved since 2011!

INTRO

Whenever you start something, there always has to be a first step, a starting point. You already have something to show, to have criticized, and “torn up” by fellow writers and strangers. Where do you start? How do you start?

The simple answer is, to just sit down, fire up the computer (or a pen/pencil and pad of paper) and get to it. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? However, not everyone can burst forth with verbal diarrhea at the drop of a hat. For some, it takes a plan.

FIRST STEPS

First, there has to be the desire to write. Since you’re reading this, that’s a given. Second, if you are reading this, you at least have the ability to read so you also have some inkling of how to put sentences together. However, that doesn’t mean you can put them together coherently. Most people with a desire to write have had some kind of training or education that moves them (or pushes them) in this direction.

If you’re completely new to this, I strongly suggest you take a few basic writing courses either on-line, at a local community college, or through a senior center. Learn how to put basic sentences together in a coherent fashion. Just reading them doesn’t mean you can write them!

WHAT NOW?

Let’s assume you have the basics down and you’re ready to start. We’re back to square one again. How do you go about it? What do you want to write about? I can only speak for myself, but I’ve found the best thing to do is just start. That’s it.

Many people start out writing by keeping a personal journal. A recent example was Mary Wilson (RIP) from The Supremes. She was our guest speaker at the Henderson Writer’s Group a couple of times and she started writing a journal early in her life. Up to this point, she still wrote almost every day. The result was that she turned that writing into several books.

When I sit down to write a story, whether short or long, I know three things. I know where I want to start, where I want to end, and the title. Everything else in the middle is a total surprise (also called the “pantser” method).

That, my friends, is my method. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for me. Below are some other methods that may work for you but don’t for me. I’ll explain why.

PLANNING IT ALL OUT

Many people need to plan out their work ahead of time. Outlining is a good example. This method meticulously outlines the story, chapter by chapter. That way, there are no plot holes or gaps in the story line. It illustrates flow problems and all the bugaboos that can cause a story to run flat or hit a brick wall. That may be your path to success. For me, that’s the perfect way to kill my creativity, lose my mojo.

At one of our writer’s group meetings, we discussed this successful female writer. She would write a sentence and agonize over it, rewrite it and perfect it before she went on to the next one. Screech! Stop the presses! In text speech, I’d have to say OMG! That’s “Oh my God!” in case you’re unaware. Talk about sucking all the creativity right out of a story. I can’t imagine writing that way. I can’t remember that author’s name, but it worked for her.

We had a member of our group that started a wonderful story and I enjoyed reading and critiquing it. However, he became so hung up on the mechanics of writing, he not only stopped writing that story, he stopped writing altogether because he didn’t think he was good enough yet. I kept telling him to just let it flow and worry about the details later, but it took him a long time to come around. I’m happy to report that he finally started writing again. Please don’t let that happen to you! He’s a gifted writer and I see great things for him, just delayed for a while.

MY PROCESS

This is how I do it. I have an idea. I stew on it for a while. After a few days…weeks…months…it all comes together. That inspiration. The spark. The beginning and the ending and the title (sometimes in different order). When that happens, I may be in the middle of several other projects. I may have nothing going. I may stop what I’m doing if this inspiration is that intriguing. Whatever the case, I just go for it. I guess you could say I follow my muse, whatever that may be.

If I were to sit down and map it all out, the creative process would come to a screeching halt. It would not work for me.

However, I am not you! What do you need to do? Do you need to sit down and start writing your story? Or, do you need to map everything out? There are good reasons to outline a story. If your story involves a lot of research, it would be a good idea to gather that information first. As for me, I try to write what I know and if my writing leads me to something I don’t know, I’ll stop and do the research at that point. If it doesn’t pan out, I’ll change the story a bit. It still won’t affect the final outcome.

SUMMARY

You can’t know everything. No matter what you write or what method you use, there will come a time when you’ll have to research something. That brings up a great point and has been the subject of several of my articles.

Happy writing!