Carve out a regular ‘writing time’ and don’t make excuses. If you can’t commit to your own writing, why should anyone else commit to it?
-Val McDermid
Tag: writing process
Writing Quote
The creation of a single world comes from a huge number of fragments and chaos.
– Hayao Miyazaki
Writing Quote
I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.
– Erica Jong
Jake Kerr on ‘The Art of Revision’
Very simply, this is one of the best articles we’ve seen on revision.
Revision requires you to recognize a gap between what you intended and what you achieved. Closing that gap is pretty much the definition of revision. But if you recognized that gap initially, you wouldn’t have made the mistake, so I call these gaps “blind spots.” Blind spots are different than grammatical ignorance or oversight (such as using a colon wrong). Blind spots are things like weaving in a sub-plot that powers an entire character arc but that actually doesn’t exist on the page–only in your head.
My biggest personal blind spot is not being clear enough in outlining character motivation. Critique partners will often say, “I don’t understand why that happened” or “I don’t know why she did that.” Thus one of the first things I do in revision is go through and make sure all the pieces of the narrative are clearly communicated. It’s so basic, but it is something I miss all the time.
The Writing Process
Writing advice about the ‘best’ writing process is easy to find.
Some writers enjoy meticulous planning and outlining. They know what’s going to happen from scene-to-scene. Some people like to fly by the seat of their pants and improvise as they go. With one method, you might end up revising more. With the other method, you may revise less but miss some of the thrill of discovery.
Now, if you’re starting out and trying to decide the best way to write – be careful of advice that says you must outline heavily, or that ‘pantsing’ is the only way. Both statements amount to terrible advice.
Instead try both methods. Maybe you find yourself working in both camps. 30% here and 70% there. And that’s ok.
The best advice about writing is to learn how you write.
Close-Up Editing & Assessment 