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Stories to tell 3

I'm not a writer because I love to write.  I don't always love writing. I avoid it sometimes.  I even wash the dishes sometimes instead of writing.  Some days it not only doesn't come easy, it doesn't come at all, and I have to write "I don't know what to write" over and over in my notebook just to get a few hundred words to finally trickle out.

Some days the writing does come easy.  The words fly onto the page, and I look back and really like what I wrote.  I love the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment I get from a good writing session. That's still not why I'm a writer.

I am a writer because I have stories to tell.  There are stories inside me all the time, some half-formed, some less clear than that.  But it's constant.  I am flooded with story ideas and fragments and whole stories, all the time.  I need to tell them.

I think this is why most writers write, but I think it can be hard to let this be our reason. There's a lot of talk out there about your passion--living your passion, finding joy in your work (I'm sure there are hundreds of other phrases like this, but you get the idea).  We think we have to be constantly on fire about our writing, in love with it, living for it.

I bought into all these ideas about finding my passion, and when I didn't love writing I thought I was wrong about being a writer.  I thought I had to love writing or else I wasn't really a writer and was doing the wrong thing.

That is not true.  I am a writer.  You are a writer.  We might love writing, we might not; that might change every day.  We are not writers because we love writing. We are writers because we have stories to tell.
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Reading

If you've been doing regular writing practice for a while (see Top 6 Reasons To Do Writing Practice) you will probably start wanting to spend time working on specific craft skills like descriptions, dialogue, action scenes, etc.  Good idea! Improving those skills makes your stories better.

So where do you start? There are lots of ways to work on your writing skills.  Do a search for "writing exercises about XYZ" and you will find tons of ideas to get and keep you going.  I thought I would share one of my favorite ways to decide what skill to focus on. Bonus--it involves reading!

First, pick out a favorite book or short story to re-read. If you choose a novel, you might want to go with a shorter one since it will be easier to analyze.

Next, write a few notes about what you remember about the book. Especially make notes about the parts you really loved (and the parts you weren't so thrilled with if there are any).  If you have thoughts about why you loved or hated different parts, note that too.

Now sit down to read, but keep your notebook and pen handy. When you come across something that is really wonderful write it down.  (If it's long, paraphrase if you like). Make a note of what category of writing it is (description, line of dialogue, etc.) and why you like it. Don't forget to write down the page number so you can go back to it later.

Once you've gone through the story making notes about your favorite bits, write up your overall impressions of the book. Give extra attention to what you liked the most about it and why.  Then go through your notes to see if there's one writing area that shows up most frequently.  Maybe you love the dialogue in this story, or maybe the descriptions thrill you to your toes.  

Whatever area really stood out for you in this book, pick that as your craft skill to work on.  Find some exercises that appeal to you, and make a plan to work on them for a few weeks until you're feeling happy with your skills in that area.  Don't try to emulate the author in your writing, but do think about how that author might write the exercise and what parts of that you would like to incorporate.  

You can also do this by picking an area to work on first and then examining a favorite story for great examples of that skill.  For example, if you know you want to hone your dialogue skills, seek out a book that you remember having great dialogue and read through it to find your favorite examples.  Analyze what makes you like them, then go to your writing exercises and work on putting those qualities into your own writing.

Of course you can pick an area to work on and do exercises without doing the analysis beforehand, but I find that doing this helps me focus on things I especially want to try to bring into my own writing.  I hope it helps your writing, too.

 

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Listen

This is a fantastic episode of Writing Excuses with Peter Beagle about ditching the "aspiring" when talking about being a writer and getting into the mindset of a professional writer.  So much good advice and charming anecdotes--I love this episode.

This is important for all of us, especially if we're in the early stages of our writing careers and aren't published yet.  How you look at your writing, how you think about it, has a great effect on your success and your feelings about your writing life.

Writing Excuses 9.44: Getting in the Writer’s Mindset with Peter Beagle

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Clockwriter

I don't think I've talked to one writer who hasn't said some form of "I don't have enough time for my writing." It's our favorite lament!  It's also the thing we let trip us up and keep us trapped more than anything else.

Why does this happen?  Some of it is a real shortage of time.  You're busy, right? Probably very busy.  Right now in our world "busy" is the new default mode. People used to ask, "How are you?" and the answer would be something like "fine" or "good" or something of that sort.  Now at least half the time I ask the question the answer I get is "busy."

Okay.  Everyone's busy.  Does that mean you can't get your writing done?  Maybe. (Ooh, you thought I was going to say "no" didn't you?)

There are times in life when there really isn't enough time to get everything done. There are times--moving, planning your wedding, having a baby, changing jobs, etc.--when you have to give more attention to one thing while letting other things take a back seat.

If you're in one of those phases then you might not have time for writing just now. And that's okay.  There will be more time for it later. For now, do things to stay connected to your writing life so your well doesn't run dry (I'll write more about that another time) and get back to writing when the balance shifts again.

If you're not in one of these times of life?  You have time to write.  You just think you don't, possibly because you don't know where to look for it or what it looks like.

Mostly what keeps us thinking we don't have enough time to write is a combination of these things:

  • Thinking we have to write for hours a day all in one chunk
  • Thinking we have to write every day
  • Thinking we have to write at the same time every day
  • Thinking writing is hard and time consuming so we couldn't possibly have time for it if we don't rearrange our whole lives for it

None of these is true.  You have time.  You don't need to have big chunks of time, either.  You would be amazed at how much you can write in 15 minutes (go to 750words.com and see how fast you can actually write). And the more you practice writing in smaller chunks and writing fast, the more words you'll be able to get down in a short time.

One other thing that can really make time into a stumbling block--not being ready with something to write.

Do not sit down to write with no idea what you want to write!  The one exception to this is if you're doing a free form writing practice session.  Then it's okay to sit down and just pour out whatever is in your head.  Other than that, have a plan for what your'e going to write.  Then sit down and do it.

Most importantly, just sit down and do it.  For five minutes.  Can you give me five minutes?  Try it.  And then let yourself be proud. Because five minutes of writing is writing.  It counts.  And it adds up.  It makes you a writer.

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