Getting Started

A lot of would be writers want to start a book, feel they have the ability to start and complete a whole manuscript, but never start. Why? Many of them feel they don’t have the talent, or they can’t make words say what they want to, or they are having trouble thinking of a plot.

The only way to get better at writing is to write. Thinking that you’re not good enough, without ever trying, already sets you up to fail. Does that mean that everyone can become a writer? In my opinion, yes. However, to prove it to yourself, you have to pick up the pen, or get your fingers on the keyboard, and start typing.

Set a word goal, so when you start you won’t stop. I’ve found at least 1,000 a day is good. Others say 500 or 2,000, but whatever you can do, do it. Now, setting a goal, you may think, limits what you can write or forces you to go longer than you can. Quite the opposite.

By setting this goal, you not only push yourself to keep writing those words, but you push yourself day after day. When you reach your goal, especially in a consistent fashion, there is a sense of pride. You finally feel like a real writer.

Also make sure that you are in a quiet place, away from distraction, and you keep yourself there until the words are finished. Tell your family or friends that you are at work now, you don’t know when it will be finished, but you cannot be disturbed.

If you have the fortitude to continue going, to push away the self doubt and keep the ideas coming, and to reach your word goal day after day, you will find yourself with a full length novel in no time.

Next post will be about going back and editing what you last wrote, and how terrible it is for your writing.

1,000 Decibels of scorn, rage, and self-loathing

Most people suffer from this internal mechanism, but artists tend to feel it worst. Every time you sit down to write (the art I’ll obviously focus on), you hear it nagging at you. You’re not good enough, you couldn’t write a believable text with a gun pointed at your head, you think anyone will like this crap? The spiraling of thoughts, and the manifestations it can take on are infinite.

Decimating to any writing attempt, the noise grows louder and louder until you just stand up and do something to ignore it. Sometimes just the act of stopping satiates it. However, there are times when the voice spills over into life, leading from your text is shit to you are shit.

Anne Lamott in her novel, “Bird by Bird” labels this as radio KFKD (K Fucked). Drowning out thoughts with sound waves carrying messages of rage and jealousy and any other negative emotion you can imagine, it persists as little more than a roadblock.

According to her, visualizing it as a radio makes it easier to stop. No longer is the voice an invisible origin, but a radio of your choosing. In my mind, mine tends to look small and antique. Yours could be massive and metallic, fitted with subwoofers and surround sound. In either case, visualizing it now makes it a small task of simply shutting off the radio.

One click, and it’s all finished.

For many people, from what I’ve seen, this works. With me though, it either created a temporary band-aid that was easily bled through, or provided even less solace. If the radio trick helped, that’s great! If it didn’t, keep reading.

In my case, I’ve found truly thinking through the problems helps best. Why do I feel jealous? Why am I angry? It may take days, but once the problem is found and isolated, you won’t find the message carried across your mind anymore. I suggest the radio for surface problems, but those deeper need greater attention than a simple visualization.

Also, if the radio worked for you, I suggest reading Anne Lamott’s book. She includes several other helpful tips for people finding it hard to keep ideas, or those getting sidetracked by the process of writing itself. Not my favorite, but still a good read.