As I've said before, whenever I lose my way as a writer, and feel like I'm running up one dead end after another, I watch Sunday In The Park With George, the Sondheim masterpiece, because every song is like a little road map.
"Move On" tells me to stop worrying and just do the work. "Finishing the Hat" tells me just how hard--and magical--doing the work is going to be. There's a price writers pay, for sticking with it to the very end. There are days when it doesn't seem worth it. Days when it doesn't seem possible.
And then there are days like yesterday, when the whole thing came together just as I'd hoped, and I knew the first draft was actually finished. Can't begin to describe that feeling. There's nothing else like it. You really do "feel" when it's time to stop. And you sit back, smile, and the reality hits.
You've done it. No matter what happens next, whether it gets published or sits there on the hard drive and in the cloud forever, just a test run, the prelude to something even better, you got there. You know you can do it.
The real work, of course, is yet to come. Editing. Several types. More long, solitary days in front of that screen. But the blueprint is there. Start to finish. Wonder of wonders!
If you're still just wishing and hoping, or if you're in one of those "dark nights" writers have, like, every other day, here are some hard earned words of wisdom and encouragement. Practical advice, while the journey is still fresh in my mind.
1. Treat it like a day job. I'm lucky. I retired early to write, and writing is the first thing I do. Sometimes the only thing I do, daily. But even when I was working, my writing time was like a second job. I set aside a particular time of day to do it, and I was there, on time, every day.
No sick days, no "personal leave." Not even on weekends or holidays. Two hours, without fail. Even if what I did with those two hours wasn't up to par, I considered it good practice. Valuable experience. You're not wasting time. You're discovering yourself, your own unique process. Just show up, every day. Miracles always happen.
2. Listen to Papa. Hemingway that is. By far the most useful process for me, even before I knew it was his, was to stop when I was still going strong. Even if I knew precisely how I wanted a chapter or scene to end, I would stop while my heart was still racing and the characters weren't nearly done talking to me.
Then, before I set that day's writing aside, I would leave myself a few notes right there where I'd stopped. Clues, thoughts, things to do, things to come...whole paragraphs I didn't want to forget.
The next day, as Hemingway also suggested, I reread the writing from the day before and my little notes. He suggests going back a few chapters, but that, for me, was too much. I'd run out of steam before I got started. You'll "feel" what works best for you. But try some variation on this idea. It definitely kept me going.
3. Start posting your work somewhere as soon as you can! I give Wattpad most of the credit for getting me through this thing. Having an "audience" waiting for each installment made it more real to me.
There was a slight controversy about whether posting could be counted as being "previously published," which is verboten with some agents and publishers. But the success some authors have had with Wattpad and Amazon and other venues is changing all that.
3. Read, but don't heed, lots of writing tips. Before, after and during my writing sessions, I stopped to tweet links to some of the best articles about writing that found their way into my inboxes. Just reading what others had to say about writing kept me going and often validated something I'd just learned about my own writing that day. I love it when that happens.
The advice that felt right, I used. The advice that didn't feel right helped me clarify my own unique needs. That's really important. You're going to read all kinds of formulas and "thou shalts" along the way. But you've got to decide what works for you.
And that may evolve as you write. I began writing with music or "white noise" or nature sounds going. Later, I had to write in silence, to hear the whispers, when I was running on fumes. You have to trust your "gut."
So "pantser" or "planner," there'll be times when you have to cross over into what you thought was "enemy" territory and steal a few tricks. Do it. Outline your way out of a block, even if you've never outlined. Lose the outline, if you're a devoted plotter stuck in a rut. It's good exercise.
4. Being "blocked" is usually a structure problem. The piece isn't dead. It's just staging a sit in 'til you stop and pay attention to the big holes in the plot or that character that needs to be sacrificed.
You know exactly what's wrong, by the way. Start reading from the beginning again. Right up to where you started to feel lost or bored or whatever. Stare it down. Face the truth. Do the work. Watch what happens, after. You'll be amazed.
4. Believe. On even the worst days, if you sit there long enough, if you keep writing, something will happen. One sentence, one passage, something will come to you that lets you know this thing is bigger than you. Wants to happen.
That is why you have to show up to work every single day. It's often the worst days that turn out to be the most important ones. You get that reassurance from somewhere that stiffens your spine. That teaches you to trust yourself. That the words will come.
They will come. If it's meant to be told, the story will unfold.
Listen.