No Magic Formula
First, a huge thank you to all the people who posted wonderful links and messages yesterday. I laughed! I laughed until I cried. I smiled. Thanks. Truly. I am very blessed to know wonderful people who care for me.
Second . . . I woke up this morning and hoped I would put my foot down on the floor and discover I could now walk. The crutches thing? Not really working in a two-story house. Not to mention Dynamo Boy. But . . . climbed out of bed, stood for half a second in my brace, and um . . . no. Yeah, yeah, I realize my sexy European doctor told me MONTHS to recover, but you know, there's a wishful thinker inside me.
And so I slid down the staircase on my ass. You know, the one that Aimless Writer told me yesterday should be in my chair. :-) And I wrote.
And that, folks, is about the sum total of the "magic formula" for writing a novel.
Now, I didn't say for writing a GOOD novel. Or even a publishable one. Or a mediocre one. Or even a terrible one. But if you want to write a novel, that is what it amounts to. Write one page a day for one year and you will have a novel. Write two paragraphs a day, and in two years or so, you will have one. Write faster . . . and you'll have a novel sooner. But that's it. You write.
You write that novel, and you will learn SOMETHING about craft. You share it, get it critiqued. Probably throw it away if it's the first novel. But you'll have a few ah-ha moments. And the next one? It'll probably be better.
You can talk about writing, blog about writing, go to conferences about writing. But in the end . . . you just have to write it.
I don't know what makes one person slide down the stairs and put their ass in the chair and someone else not.
But I can tell you there's no magic formula.
Thoughts?
19 comments:
Exactly.
Whenever someone says, "I don't have time to write a novel," or something along those lines, my response used to be, "One page a day and in a year you've got a novel manuscript." They always seem startled by that.
Now, however, since the comment tends to be, "I've always wanted to write a novel, but I don't have time," I just shrug and smile and don't offer advice. You either do it or you don't and no one, I don't think, is going to care if you don't write a novel.
And as for your leg, well, at least you have a sexy European doctor.
My first thought is I can't miss your blog for a day. OMG, E. Feel better.
Staying down doesn't mean being out - it means a new way of doing things and of that ever-looming, new normal.
Just be careful how hard you bop down the stairs on your bottom, or you could have a whole new set of problems! ;)
Mark:
I also stopped offering that advice . . . I mean, I do on occasion, but I know there's only so much a "pep talk" can do.
And yeah. My doctor was the lone bright spot, LOL!
Amy:
I know. They want me to be really careful of my hips . . . I've had more than one friend with Crohn's who needed hip replacements YOUNG because of the prednisone.
I did that all last summer(also in a 2 story house). I didn't see my basement for two months. Didn't get vacuumed for 2 months either. Shocking, I know.
I'm betting your next book will have a sexy European doctor. Oh yeah, you've kind of got one of those now, well, at least from Over There.
I just smile and nod too. People don't realize writing is actual work and I'm too busy working to convince them.
Starbucks:
Yeah. I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of things that are just going to be left undone around the house.
I'm so sorry, Erica! I didn't blog hop yesterday and totally missed this! Take care of yourself.
I don't have any sage advice, except, writing will make you a writer and stealing Nike's slogan, Just do it!.
magolla:
So true! Just Do It is pretty close to the key. :-)
Erica, you have the most amazing attitude and spirit. Please take good care of yourself.
People say they don't have time to write and then turn to me and say things like, "I thought of you for this project because you have the time since all you do is write." If writing takes so little time why aren't they doing it? I just smile and say. "Sorry someone already snagged me."
Don't laugh so hard your sides ache. You might bruise something!
MAry:
As a mom of four who works from home as a f/t writer and editor, that perception is really common in my life. I think working from home is wonderful . . . but there really is this idea that it's . . . I don't know . . . this "freed-up" schedule since you don't punch a clock. If anything, I feel like I work more hours than if I had a traditional day job, though the flexibility is a huge benefit.
To think if a company like Avon were to start selling a porduct that makes you a better writer.
Maybe then I'd go answer the door whenever the Avon chick knocks. I'm one of those awful people who crouches beneath the window and pretends that I'm not home.
Well, at least your mind is still intact. Can't take that away from you unless during all the upset your brain moved to a new location. That said, careful bumping down the stairs. ;-)
So, 'tis true. All one has to do is write in order to barf up a novel. The thing is that I think many of those who "don;t have time to write" are people who believe that those pages must be perfect as soon as the words hit the paper. And that's their sticking point, unfortunately. I speak from experience finding that nothing is accomplished with perfection guiding the evil inner critic.
P.S. Hope your stairs are carpeted at least.
JT:
I do that with anyone who knocks, too. LOL!
Kath:
I don't know. I think some people are more in love with the IDEA of writing a novel than the actual discipline it takes to write one.
And yeah. CARPETED, LOL!
I think writing a novel is both easy and hard. The even harder part is getting yourself to write in the first place.
Most people who don't write (I've written all my life, including a bunch of relatively worthless novels), and I still find the hardest part to be getting started.
PS I'm glad for your determination.
Joe:
I agree. I don't think it's easy either. But it is a discipline, I guess, which like most muscles can be trained.
Before I wrote my first novel, I wrote tons of short stories, but the idea of EVEN STARTING something long was way too intimidating to me.
Well now I just feel lazy.
I actually brought my laptop to work with me yesterday in the hopes that I'd edit. And I did. Five pages there, then because I was eager to keep going, five more pages last night. I think I'll try to make this a habit.
Melanie:
That is AWESOME. I blogged a long time ago about what I "cut out" of my life to make take for writing--mindless TV, toxic people . . . volunteering for things I don't believe in (versus volunteering for stuff I am passionate about). It's amazing how finding even a half-hour a day, if you focus, can help.
I've definitely cut out tv. It helps that I don't have one near my computer -- I have to watch whatever my parents choose.
Post a Comment