OtherWor(l)ds

Most of the time I think that the hardest thing about writing fiction is actually making it good. I’m still working on that. Sitting down to write is usually the easy part. But for a longer work of fiction it requires a longer period of blocking out the less useful internal critic, the little voice that says things like, “please stop writing—you’re no good” and “what’s the use?” Whether or not that voice is right is beside the point; there’s a novel that needs finishing and that voice is “trolling” it. We’re not supposed to think about how bad it is (well, how much works and doesn’t work and how to fix those things that don’t work) until once the rough draft is finished.

In addition to potential negativity, there’s also the worry about whether one is feeling creative at the moment. There’s the worry that the writing will suffer because of it, that the writing will seem “forced.” Even when the creativity or inspiration doesn’t seem to be there, it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and write anyway. As gurus have pointed out, so-called “forced” writing is most often a product of poor revision and editing, not a lack of inspiration. If we come to count on inspiration always being there in order to write, I think we put too much pressure on it and, ironically, drain away yet more inspiration. I’ve been relying more and more on the “just show up and work” philosophy. It doesn’t sound as glamourous as riding the winds of inspiration, but as Peter S. Beagle points out in a recent episode of the Writing Excuses podcast, that mentality ensures that you get work done (Writing Excuses 9.44: Getting in the Writer’s Mindset with Peter Beagle). One quote I really liked from that episode was, “If the muse is late, start without her.”

One of the things I’ve already found is that inspiration is really always there, even on the bad days. It just likes to hide sometimes. Words might bring it out of hiding.

Tenacity is key–coming to work on a regular basis and putting in the hours or words.