How many articles have you read saying that you have to write a few words every day to be an author? I know I’ve read many along those lines and I’ve heard many authors wheel out the same comment when talking about their craft. Numbers of words are often cited as though they were a tenet of faith to which an author must adhere or be damned, and invariably five hundred to a thousand words a day is quoted.
Certainly, we all need to apply ourselves to our writing or our novel does not progress, but I think that setting an unnatural benchmark misses the point that creativity is just that and it cannot be rushed or forced in any way. For me the thought of writing some rubbish every day just to comply with a myth about the best way to write is complete nonsense.
Given that we are all different, why should our writing styles all be squeezed into the same sausage-making machine to emerge in exactly the same shape? Surely the content is more critical and to create nuanced and readable novels or articles a writer needs to be inspired. Sitting and forcing inspiration seems completely counter-productive. Certainly I know that I’m not able to force my own creative process. It has to take hold of me. I have to feel the flow and the pull of the narrative. I have to see the characters and the action unfold in front of me. Sometimes that can mean that I sit and write thousands of words in one sitting. But equally, if lack of inspiration means that I don’t write for a period of time, then so be it. I don’t berate myself: it’s just part of the process. And sometimes, having left a chapter unfinished for a period of time, my subconscious mind finds a completely different, and usually better, way to end it.
Another factor that is commonly overlooked by those advocating daily writing is that authors are human and life is at best uncertain. We face a constant barrage of life events that we have to deal with both physically, financially and emotionally. These all take their toll and any one of these can impact on a writer’s creativity. In my opinion, making oneself write at one’s lowest ebb is not at all conducive to a positive writing experience.
Time of day is another myth. I’ve heard some writers mention that if they don’t write five hundred to a thousand words before breakfast then their day is not complete. Well, that may work for someone who is an early riser but what if you aren’t? Just because you can’t write in the morning is that wrong? Absolutely not. Time of day should fit your own personal pattern. You need to be at ease to write, so trying to force yourself to rise early and write when you are a night owl is working counter to your own natural preferences. In my book that approach will only stunt your creativity.
However, even though I have said that you should not rush your writing, I do not believe that it takes years to write a novel. If a writer tells me that it took them over two years to complete a book then I tend to think that this is someone who either cannot prioritise their research or push themselves to complete their oeuvre. And I stand by that comment, even if the author is Donna Tartt who took an incredible ten years to write her last book, The Goldfinch. Whilst I understand that the re-editing process can result in more time being taken to polish the book, even that should not take years to finalise. There are some authors who can write a new book in a few months and others that take a couple of years. Personally I have found that a year is about my limit, and I don’t write full-time as my life is full of many other activities.
But that is my pattern and you need to find your own personal way. To me that is the single most important thing since, as I said earlier, we are all individual. So why would writing a book be any different?
Above all writing should be a joy. It should tap into your creative soul.
Find your own writing style. Adapt, explore, innovate - but above all stick to whatever works for you.
Don’t just blindly follow another writer’s path. Be true to yourself and create your own path. You never know where it will lead you.
Sam Audley writes pacy, tightly-plotted international crime thrillers. Her first novel, The Dawnlands Catch, was based on the concept of ‘when is an offer too good to be true?’ It majored on the themes of betrayal and manipulation of people for criminal ends and covered action spanning Africa, Asia and the United States. Her second one in the Maria Ruiz series, a tale of ‘who can you trust?’ was based in Guatemala and Mexico against the backdrop of drug-trafficking. She is currently writing her third novel, on the theme of 'secrets never stay hidden’, which is set in China, Burma and Singapore.
Follow Sam on Twitter @sam_audley; on Facebook or via her website; www.saauthor.com.
I think that you are quite right that you cannot force yourself to be creative at anything but there can sometimes be advantage in doing a stint of writing even if you believe that what you have written is nonsense and it may even be nonsense as it stands. I have found that sometimes it is possible to work back over stuff and perhaps find ideas which can be developed even if they were not very well expressed in the original and sometimes I find that inspiration can come in the process of writing, although I admit there is no guarantee at all that this will happen. Reg Butler, the sculptor wrote an intriguing book called Creative Development, aimed primarily at students and suggesting how thy could get the best out of their time at art school. He commented that on bad days (as an alternative to suicide) he took a large bowl half-filled with water and added plaster powder and stinginess prompted him to use the plaster to produce something rather than waste it. I'm not sure if there is an equivalent tactic for writers and I was not all that enthusiastic about Butler's later work but it's an intriguing idea nevertheless.
Your article has helped my mind to settle down a bit after being very frustrated by an interrupted writing period due to have a succession of house guests! I haven't been able to write anything during that time, but have managed to do a little research, and have otherwise focused on reading - something that I am assured is also an important part of the writing process. But thank you for some good, sound advice.
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