If you’ve ever wandered bookshelves at a store and scoffed at some titles, going “I could do that”… but you’ve never written a word, you might be one of those people who need some help when you realize what you got yourself into. Or you might have watched a movie and gone “But what if character A did this?”, you could want to write some fan fiction. Maybe you even dreamed of writing the Great American Novel (whatever that really means changes from decade to decade) or a poem about wandering the woods with a journal of your thoughts (pro tip: as Homer Simpson realizes in his daydream, you may end up missing T.V.).
Regardless of how you get to the point you want to write a book or short story, or anything in that literary sphere, you likely will do what all new writers do. You grab a pen; you open a doc file; you go to town!…And then mid-way through the first few hours or days; you realize that holy crap, you don’t know what’s even going on.
If it sounds remotely familiar, don’t worry. I got you… because every writer has been there. Anyone who claims they haven’t been is likely selling you something. So I’ve gathered some basic quick tips to help you stay inspired and get through that first enormous block. This isn’t going to make you a great writer at first. But it will can help you be consistent which is far more important.
Don’t be a perfectionist
This one seems like an obvious thought, but it might surprise you how often it crops up. It runs the usual vein of “this reads like I vomited on the page, how can I fix it quick?!?!” But the truth is… you should do that. A brain dump onto pages, mindless drivel of story that forms a lump often feels embarrassing, but it isn’t. The point of your first draft is that it forms a lump… but it is a lump that forms something. What that something is will be moulded by your editing and the drafting process.
Keep your head in the clouds but your feet on the ground
Look. I get it. You want to earn billions, be a celebrity writer, yadayada. But the odds aren’t great. They’re stacked against you. You won’t publish much at first. Even if you self-publish and follow all the advice and get all the readers in your first book (or emotionally manipulate others into purchasing your books, which is a thing happening at times), you won’t be a success story. Those you hear about who are ‘breakouts’ often have been writing a long time. First novels usually suck. And that’s okay. Each book is going to be better and better. Keep your head in the clouds when it concerns dreaming and creating your story, but by keeping your feet on the ground, you won’t build yourself up to momentous disappointment if something goes wrong or doesn’t happen at all.
Stay out of writers’ groups
I can hear the booing all the way over here.
But this is my thought: writers’ groups can be helpful… but in the editing process. Going into a group with only one chapter written in your very first draft is offering your neck in submission to be ravaged by hyenas. I love my fellow writers, but let’s face it, many of us aren’t very helpful. We’re collaborative and competitive in equal measure. This includes going asking “Well, I have this character, what should they do?” which makes me want to shake you and say “That is YOUR job.” Use those groups on Reddit, Facebook, and forums as support when you feel you won’t make it to the end, when an editing problem is troubling you, and for when you need to realize you aren’t alone because everyone is in it together. But do not turn to the groups to write your story for you, because then it is their story. Not yours.
Touch Grass and Take a Shower
I have this joke, and many of us do, that I feel like Gollum in his cave talking to himself when I’m writing. Whether for personal work or client work, I have a habit of isolating myself. But that doesn’t always work. Sometimes you need to pack up your books and talk a walk in the park. Or to a bookstore. Or to the cinema. Anywhere where you can soak your brain in something other than your own ego.
Right alongside this is the shower. A shower or bath is oddly great for getting the brain firing again. There are studies about how ‘turning the brain off’ (and I will post about it later), in one way through a monotonous activity helps it reignite in the creative side. It feels silly. It works. For some reason, when I am stuck, I go take a shower and stand under warm water and everything happens and I’m scrambling out of the shower to get a notebook.
Now there’s a visual.
Read/Watch outside your typical genre
There’s some debate about this and I don’t really understand. I have it out with writers whining about how they have to read anything at all and they hate reading and that’s…another thing. I’ll do that later. But you cannot live in a bubble. Full stop. If you love fantasy, super, read ALL the fantasy. But read literary and horror and everything you can that you might enjoy. The reason being that if you read in other genres, you can help your brain learn how to write in different ways. Maybe you can learn how a well done first person is done because a literary novel did it in a way that resonated with you. Or a historical fiction novel inspires you to create some world of your own using a historical reference you never dreamed of. Bubbles are fun, but eventually, you need to step outside them. Or you risk stagnation and mimicry.
You Can Write. Just Don’t Lose Focus.
When you are starting your writing adventure, you will get tons of advice. Some of it will be good for everyone and some, like mine, may need to be used in a way that works for you. There is no one size fits all approach to writing, despite what those books from Writers Digest may tell you.
The point is: Keep trying. Learn. Write. Erase. Start again. But keep going.
What tips do you have for other new writers? What things do you need help with for writing your first book, story, play, poetry collection? Let me hear from you.