Article written by Rory Hawkins.
Anyone creative enough can figure themselves a writer. Anyone who’s read enough might consider that they too – mediocre book open on the bed, characters thinner than the page, ‘said’ turned to punctuation – could maybe write something of their own.
It’s just a matter of habit. Getting into anything takes time and effort, the same to maintain it. As much as you might only enjoy something when it feels easy, you can’t get better without doing it frequently. Writing’s no different.
But for all we might do well, don’t writers have our very own bad habits? No matter your age or how long you’ve been interested in writing your own material, no matter the topic, there’s always going to be that moment to halt your progress. These are a few of those foreboding habits that if you don’t inevitably fall into at some point or another, you must be some hyper-motivated being with the self-awareness of a home security system and the discipline of an ascetic monk. I know I’m not.
Writers’ pitfalls can be monstrously demotivating; they can make you question your skills as a writer or even your own ability to try. But that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to get out of. I’d rather focus on the ‘getting out’ than avoiding altogether because the line between the two can be pretty blurred when you think about it. And wouldn’t you just prefer that lovely personal growth bonus instead?
Getting to Work
Whether it’s not having the time or just simple procrastination, sometimes the hardest part of writing for yourself is just sitting down and starting. As a perfectionist, I can tell you about the stupid amount of import I put into almost anything I want to write; it’s a mentality that sometimes makes writing seem like this divine job above all else.
I’ll touch back on that kind of thinking later – but to start working against what stops you from beginning, you need to make a space into somewhere you can write, and only write. Find somewhere physically comfortable to sit. Be this in your own home, somewhere like a local library or even just outside, make sure it’s tidy enough that random objects won’t catch your attention or make you fiddle. Set yourself a time to start in advance. If you keep putting it off little by little, you could end up not writing anything indefinitely. But don’t set a time to finish; turning your time for writing into an extreme set amount won’t help. Why limit yourself once on a roll?
Before you start, make sure you have everything you need – including food, water and any small comforts. If being in the comfortable headspace to write means curled up under a blanket, go for it! I think it’s good to give yourself the impression that you’re not going to move from that spot against your will. Once you start and until you feel accomplished enough to finish, toilet breaks should realistically be the only thing you get up for.
Add a set of headphones and you’re set to go. Music is the best personal touch – and if you don’t have a least one writing playlist, what’s wrong with you? Listening to music whilst plotting out mundane story details is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. If you’re to avoid all other advice, keep to this one, and keep yourself pumped whilst blotting out any noise distractions. It’s also nice to have some songs in mind to set the tone of what you’re writing, genre or otherwise. But make sure what you’re listening to is offline.
Because the hardest part? TURNING OFF YOUR INTERNET. It’s the biggest hindrance and will enable you to put anything off until it’s gone. Research that random fact to make your story realistic later – now’s not the time. Social media is the worst distraction, you know, like trying to get work done in a study group with loud friends . There’s just no need for you to have the internet when you should be focusing solely on writing.
Generating Ideas
Developing any ideas for your narratives, poetry or essays is why you put yourself in the zone in the first place. That frequently annoying question authors are posed: “Where do your ideas come from?” Some might grasp at an ambiguous creative force in the human psyche that can be tapped into by pure chance – some just admit they start from the simplest of ideas that grow into something more.
The want to do something individual, different, or just more than others is an ambition that does drive people to do more, but when it’s solely about that (especially in writing) it can fall pretty flat. You as a person who reads and is interested in learning more need to have some amount of personal feeling towards what you’re writing about.
That’s why my advice when coming up with an idea is that you need to have that initial feeling with an idea. What if this happened? How come something works like this? If this changes what else will? Ask yourself questions around topics until you’re exploring more around reactions and emotions related to it rather than the straight facts you already think you know.
Doing this helps flesh out a scenario to see how it stands, what kind of tone it sets, and if it’s really something you want to continue exploring. Ideas don’t have to be massive or with some grand plan for the future to begin with. As mentioned before, I’m a perfectionist when it comes to writing in more than one way. But even for the next big novel to be written, a dozen or more ideas need to be thought out and tested.
Coming up with more light-hearted or simplistic stories aren’t a waste of time if you’re enjoying them. If anything, it’s a necessary progression at becoming a better writer. If you as a writer can see what makes a topic special and able to be shared, then it’s something you can work towards.
Editing Your Work
Finally finishing something you’ve written brings such an accomplished high – “f**k yeah! I’m done! No more stress, no more skulking, I can actually go out!” Now everything’s out on the page, you’re not going to forget that tidbit of a line that sounded so right when it came to mind. But then you reread that one line, or even a few more, it dawns on you that it’s been a long time since you started writing. More than just that sentence might clunky or just plain out of place. The idea of going back over work and editing everything you’ve done already looms.
Editing is one of the most necessary evils in this world – and needs to be done so much that we as readers can forget so easily that literally everything is edited within an inch of its life before it makes its way into our hands. As writers, editing is a definite skill to focus on. Scrutinising your own work for errors or flimsy plot feels a tad better than others doing it, and it’s a task with its own reward. How else can you refine your own thought processes after a writing-binge?
When I say editing, I don’t just mean editing current projects either. If you’re anything like me, there’s probably a dozen or more old ideas that went nowhere or you just plain forgot about. After time for reflection, revisiting your younger self’s writing is a good way to work old ideas into new or find another angle to approach them from.
Just reading your older prose can be interesting mechanically – “what did Grade 11 me think they were doing?” Your prose is like a fingerprint… or rather more like hair. It’s yours, it can look a bit iffy at times, but you’re always thinking about what you could do better with it. That’s why a person’s writing prose (especially writing creatively) can change so much, consciously or otherwise.
Editing for prose specifically isn’t something you can do immediately. That’s right! You actually have to give yourself a break! Well if you really feel like it, in the meantime taking a better look at other aspects is a good idea. Spelling, grammar and varying sentence structure are habits that should be etched into mind. Stumbling on something in a proofreading has embarrassed us all.
Rather, I’d recommend sending a copy or two to people you know are well read and can be trusted with your word-baby. They also need to be ruthlessly objective. This might sound harsh, but if you hand a piece of work to someone and all they can say is “That was nice, you did good” they are not being helpful in the slightest. Come on, of course it’s amazing! We already know it has the potential to be! Never pick proof-readers for your ego’s sake, even if they’re well-meaning friends or family.
Actually, that’s what a lot of these pitfalls really come down to: ego. Yes, it’s possible for you sit down and do it. It’s been possible for so many others, so it should be possible for you.
Don’t feel pressed to automatically be churning out gold. All good things take time and patience, and as long as you’re willing to have fun in what you’re doing, it won’t be a chore.
Stumbling or taking a fall doesn’t matter if you’re going to get up.
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