How I’ve Learned to Write
Writing can take a lot of mental power. For instance, coming up with an idea for a daily blog post. Most of the time, as the case was today–and many days–it is simply lack of willful focus on the task at hand. As soon as I sat down with the intention to write, the words sprang from my fingers and into life.
I don’t really have a “secret” as to where I get my inspiration. I get it form everything, every moment or every day. I become interested in a story, and a pick up models and character types I’d like to try out. I see a person walking down the street, muttering into a cell phone–or to themselves–and my mind leaps to fill in the blanks; a story is conceived.
For the longest time, all I had were these notebooks filled with ideas. None of the stories ever got written, but I was ceaselessly barraged with new and newer ideas. I even tried to write some of them. A lot of my past explorations in writing reflect the journey of the past year: when I learned how to write.
The Struggle
First, I get excited by an idea which needs to be repeated and repeated and repeated in my head until I am obsessed with it. That obsession takes hold of my life and I see some marvelous things come out of it. Things that never existed before this obsession. People, events, entire universes … they are both my servants and my dictatorial masters. It’s a struggle.
This struggle usually happens when I try to put this obsession into words. Inspiration demands attention, and the mind power needed to create new worlds can not be shared with the focus needed to tempt perfection from my fingers. Not to mention, the thrilling feelings are hard to come by when trying to recreate something so perfectly formed in my head.
Here and now … in this moment of doubt … when I find myself wondering why I’ve even devoted all this energy to such a silly idea … this is when I know I’m onto something.
The struggle isn’t all that’s needed though. I knew how to struggle for a long time. I’d annoy myself with the struggling … never able to finish a story, nor even blog posts! Almost didn’t finish this one. Impatience is a writer’s enemy. No, there was one thing more I didn’t learn until these past two years of writing.
The Flowing of Ink
The most important thing to do at this point in the struggle is write. Write whatever it is that comes to mind. Whether it ends up in the final presentation or not: it must be written down! By this point I’ve worked over this blog three or four times, changing the focus and tampering with the voice. The struggle is part of the process. The only way I’ve found to overcome this struggle is to write.
It doesn’t have to be good. That’s where redrafting comes in. I learned to write by writing. When I look at the first few chapters of the novel now (which I do very seldom) I see how my style and my knowledge of the characters has improved. I also see how the words I began with can be made better, but I will not rework them until the whole of the first draft is finished. On that endeavor I am resolute.
If there is anyone else out there, stumbling in the dark–but having the time of his/her life–like I am, just keep on writing. We’ll get there. Hopefully with as few bumps and bruises as possible. I know there is much more for me to learn about writing. I learn more everyday. I can’t wait until this stage of the writing is over, but I know it will be sorely missed when it is.
Tags: Writing
Joeysan's Head, On Writing | Joey | 
15 December 2009 3:49 PM
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By Liz, 15 December 2009 @ 8:53 PM
Can I get an amen?
I once asked someone I really admired how they knew where to start a book. She said, “I write until I get to the end. Once I get to the end, I know what I should have been writing in the beginning, and go from there.” Years passed before I understood what she meant.
By Joey, 15 December 2009 @ 9:20 PM
Yeah. Some things you have to live through in order to understand. The trick is learning to learn lessons from others as much as you can. The advantage of being a writer is you’ll never run out of learning material. There are so many books to read, and each of them a learning experience.
By Liz, 16 December 2009 @ 5:26 AM
DUDE. Not to mention reality TV. Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from America’s Next Top Model, Top Chef, and Project Runway. Even Shear Genius, which was absolutely horrible, but great as a drinking game, was chock full of little lessons that can easily be applied to writing.
By Joey, 16 December 2009 @ 7:46 AM
Oh my goodness Miss Liz, you’re starting to sound like my sisters. Please assure me this is sarcasm!
By Liz, 16 December 2009 @ 11:10 AM
No way! And just to prove it, here’s my list of top five things I’ve learned about writing from competition reality shows:
1. “Boring” is worse than “poorly executed.” “Poorly executed” can be fixed; boring cannot. Tom Colicchio says: “It was an shapeless, tasteless mess.”
2. Study your craft. Talent will only take you so far; hard work will take you the rest of the way. Tyra says: “Don’t rely on your pretty.”
3. In regards to the blame game, Tyra says: “Take responsibility for yourself, because ain’t nobody gonna take responsibility for you.”
4. In regards to objectivity, Tim Gunn says: “If you spend a week in a monkey cage, you’ll get used to the smell. But anyone who walks in will know it stinks.” (More or less.)
5. Don’t worry about “winning”; focus on what you do best, and eventually you’ll get your own show regardless. (Tabatha’s Salon Takeover)
By Joey, 16 December 2009 @ 11:48 AM
That is hilarious! Would you be willing to expunge on this and do a guest post? I get a kick out of this theory you have going here.
By Liz, 16 December 2009 @ 4:04 PM
Sure! LOL. And you’re in luck, ’cause I just watched the entire third season of Project Runway on Bravo while I was tidying up the house.
By Joey, 16 December 2009 @ 9:37 PM
Awesome sauce! You’ll be my first guest post ever! WOO!