Just Write The Fucking Thing
Filed under Uncategorized • 30-07-2008 •
Someone contacted me via the comments on this blog and asked for advice on how to start writing a story. For those that missed it (and in the hope other people will find it useful) this is the response I sent:
Tags: Writing“I will give you the best piece of advice I was ever given: just write the fucking thing. Getting the words down on paper is the hard part. And it doesn’t matter if your first draft sucks. All first drafts suck. The important part is that you write the story. Then, when you’ve finished it, you can go back and edit it, polish up the text to make it shine. Editing is easier than writing. So, if you have a story to tell, just write it down without worrying how it sounds. You will not hit perfection first time. But you will get a completed first draft that you can then work on, to bring it up to professional quality. A lot of people make the mistake of trying to edit as they go along – of trying to make each sentence perfect before moving on to the next – and that is deadly. Just write. Tidy up later. Go for it”
AMEN!
You should write a book on how to write with just one page.
“Just Fucking Write the Thing.”
Awesome and actually inspirational.
Reminds me of what I tell my kids with regards to homework.
“The NOT-doing takes the time, the doing goes quick.”
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Amen is right! Perfect advice Garth. I started writing my first novel about six months ago, but because I was used to writing articles or newsletters on such a tight deadline, writing wasn’t my problem – I could do that easy, but I had a horrific time training myself not to look back over each page and correct errors, or even feel it was so bad I needed to start over.
“Just write” sounds so simple, but for some of us, getting over that “perfection” attitude is the most important step in being able to “just write”. And that’s anything but easy.
Thanks Deanna. I still struggle with my inner editor, but re-reading this helps me to keep going.
Just write sounds so simple, but for some of us, getting over that perfection attitude is the most important step in being able to just write.
Spot on, Gareth. That sums it up! One important thing to add though is, however important it is to edit in subsequent drafts, there has to be a limit; something I’ve only consciously registered relatively recently. Case in point: both my novels are decades old and I’ve been editing them ever since they were written. And despite a gap of almost 20 years without creative writing, 20,000 words into my third is still a pretty poor show.
I read recently about Iain Banks whose first two novels never saw the light of day but he kept on writing…
For interest, my new year’s resolution (or something) is to polish off the third novel first draft in six months or less, and spend no more than another six months redrafting/editing. And do that every time: a novel a year. Yup, I’m convinced I can do it.
One final thing, relevant to your words, is a YouTube video by Stephen J. Cannell I found a while back; your excellent advice said in a different way.
Absolutely – writers write! That’s the critical bit. I had a drawing teacher years ago whose best advice was to stop worrying about producing a masterpiece every time – it wasn’t going to happen. Fear of the blank page is a killer. Get over it.
Damn right. Best advice anyone ever gave me – “Don’t get it right, get it written”. Screw-ups are what first drafts are for!