Last I counted, which was about three days ago, there were approximately 6.4 million books, articles, and blog posts in existence that cover the craft of fiction writing. By now, that number’s probably swelled to seven or so million, and sure, I’ve contributed to the pile.
I come to this topic, writing on the craft of writing, with experience and confidence. As of this writing, I’ve been a novelist of some sort for approximately twenty years, if you count the messes I made while I was in high school and college. Over this period, I’ve consumed many, many materials about writing, from the time-proven, religious texts of the field like The Elements of Style through other helpful books like Stephen King’s On Writing and Sol Stein’s Stein on Writing, to random articles in volumes like The Writer’s Market and The Horror Writers' Handbook, to, on down the line, obscure internet blog posts (hello, reflection).
Throughout it all are several common refrains: nuggets of wisdom repeated so much you might start to think they’re some sort of gospel Truth.
And I’m sure they’re true enough. But I guess it’s still okay to ignore them, right? I hope?
Here are several Truths I’ve waved off:
Keep A Notebook. This Truth comes in various forms. In some versions, you’re advised to keep a journal or diary due to the benefits of self reflection. In other versions, the notebook should be a little pocket-sized thing you keep in your shirt pocket or purse, with a pencil stub stuffed down in the spirals; this notebook, or something like it, should be your constant companion in case you happen to be in Walmart and a bolt of inspiration, so powerful it must be jotted down immediately, hits you while you’re pondering motor oil or bottled water.
I do frequently carry a notebook. But when I do, it’s because I’m working on a novel and my ongoing handwritten first draft is inside it. I do not journal or carry an idea notebook. I’ve nothing against journaling; I just don’t do it. Idea notebooks? I think they’re silly. Surely no idea is so incredibly important it must be jotted down immediately in all its raw, original glory. And even if such an idea does come along, it will be there next time you’re writing, and it might even be improved, having developed some inside your head! One thing it won’t do, if it’s so incredibly brilliant, is disappear.
For what it’s worth, I recall a fellow named Stephen King also laughs at the idea of an idea notebook and has offered a similar argument.
Write What You Know. This is an idea abstract enough that I could probably argue just as well that it’s sound advice. But on its face it contradicts everything writing fiction is all about. Write what you know? What about research, inventing, traveling, and exploring the unexplored? I’m probably being too much of a literalist. Even still, I don’t want to abide at all by this rule, for the same reason I don’t want to write a series or commit myself to a returning character: I want every story to be an exciting leap into the unknown. Instead of Write what you know, how about Have fun, and maybe you’ll learn something?
Keep To A Schedule. Am I just bitter about this one, because I'm not disciplined enough to get up early every morning and delve into my creativity with only a pot of coffee and my cats as company? Maybe. Or maybe I shouldn’t worry, because I’m capable of writing in just about any environment, so I don’t need the solitude of the pre-dawn hours, or any other scheduled writing time? I don’t know. What I know is, I write regularly, and I write a lot. I average at least a novel a year, and that yearly novel is typically accompanied by numerous short stories, poems, essays, and blog posts. Maybe I’m onto something here? Maybe some of us relish the chaos of writing in kitchens, coffee shops, classrooms, and vehicles, while others excel within the confines of a schedule? Maybe.
For The Love Of All That Is Good, Finish It. I’m including this one only because I’ve discarded a lot of works in progress. No doubt, I've discarded more stories than I've finished. I agree that it’s important to fight through the periods of doubt that will inevitably arise (numerous times) while writing a novel. Novels take a while, right? Of course, during such an extensive process, you’re going to have doubts. Fight through them! Bad novel, good novel, there will be no novel at all if you don’t finish! Many, many times, this is exactly what you should do. But if the novel is truly going nowhere, despite endless head-pounding efforts to revive it or figure it out, then move on. Don’t delete the file or burn the notebook (it might turn into something later!), but don’t let the constant finish it! refrain we've all seen a thousand times keep you handcuffed to a project that ain’t gonna happen when you could be working on something that will.
It’s key, of course, to be able to identify what’s truly dead and what is simply giving you those perfectly normal writerly self-doubts.
Only years of reading and writing will sharpen that sense.
Now, there’s a refrain that’s true 100% of the time: if you want to write, and write well, you have to write. And write. And write.
Disclaimer: I know I'm not the first to argue against these Truths, and many of the arguments I state here I've no doubt seen elsewhere. Thanks to all the brilliant minds who write better writing wisdom than I do. And thanks so much, reader, for reading!
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