Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Write Way to be Creative

So, here we are. Start of a New Year, and no two finished novels to show for it. Not a promising start.


But, focusing  on what I did right. I set a goal, and I made an effort. After all, I did write 24,000 words in the span of three weeks. That is NOT bad at all! So what if life happened and I didn't meet my grand expectations. I still got a helluva lot accomplished!

Now, at the beginning of the year, I had a whole list of Resolutions: finishing what I started and OODLES more!

However, I got to thinking... what if I don't make it? What if I'm just setting myself up for failure? After all, I've yet to complete a full-length novel. Even a draft! So I decided to examine my ideas and methods. I discovered that sometimes... they just don't work. Here's a few of them:


#1. You have to focus exclusively on one creative goal in order to complete it. Dabbling in other projects at the same time is bad.

Wrong. While focus IS important in order to complete a project, one can become over-immersed and ultimately lose focus.  Taking a structured and scheduled break will help overcome writer's block and avoid burnout. Who knows? Maybe working on another project will give ideas for the main novel.

#2 Finding plot-holes means you are a sloppy writer.

Wrong. Finding plot-holes makes you a good writer. It means you are paying attention and thoroughly going over your work. No one writes a book with no inconsistencies (with the exception of possibly Stephanie Meyer... she took one colossal plot-hole, threw in some characters and called it a book, hoping no one would notice. Can't see the forest for the trees, right?). Denying you have any plot trouble is the sign of a sloppy writer.

#3 If you don't make your goal you are a failure.

Hopelessly, helplessly, HAPLESSLY wrong. If you miss your goal because you wantonly ignored deadlines, played Galaga (thought we wouldn't notice... but we did), and watched movies instead of writing, then yes. You suck.

However, if you missed your goal because you spent hours staring at a screen, backspacing, reenacting Hamlet with your foam sword in hopes of sparking some creativity for your character's monologue, staring at a blank screen some more, wailing and gnashing your teeth... then you don't suck. You're stuck. Give yourself a break, literal and figurative, and get back to writing when you're done!

#4 You're a writer even if you haven't written in a long time

Nope. I'm all for the "you're a writer even if you haven't been published in a long time", but you have to write to be a writer. It's too easily used as a cop out. A way to feel good about yourself even if you're not actually doing the work required. It's how we rationalize that it's OK to watch a movie after our nine-to-five instead of sitting down at the computer and writing... until eventually we're not writing anymore. There comes a point where we become "used to be writers". Yes, it's tiring. No, it's not always fun. But we always need to be doing it.


#5 You have to be clever to be good.

We all want to have Jasper Fforde's witty prose, or Stephen King's intricate tales, or my eloquent turns of phrase*... but even they admit to the importance of a good editor. Focus on telling your story; cleverness takes a lot of rewriting.

*indicates sarcasm



So, there's a list for you. It's not 100% accurate, and is therefore ongoing. But it's a start.

All that said, my own list of New Year's resolutions (as pertains to writing) became quite short.

#1 Try

I'll have my hands full with that.

Laterz.

.