The right writing book
3 tools to break up writer's block
In last month’s newsletter about creating stories, I talked about my outlining process to write a fictional story. Today, in honor of National Novel Writing Month, we’re talking about three key tools that help me with actual writing — fast, fun, free, first-rough-draft writing.
Tool #1: Find the right writing book.
I once read a Very Popular Writing Book by a Very Successful Author and it set me back for years. I thought I couldn’t be a “real” writer because I couldn’t quit my job and write 2,000 words a day while my spouse managed the rest of our lives. Now I know that I’d just gotten ahold of a writing book that was terrible for me, and I needed to find a different one.
I’ve since discovered writing books that helped me, as well as more writing books that didn’t help — but luckily, now I know myself well enough to put down the latter. Only you can decide the right time to set off on your next creative journey, but the right writing book can offer a roadmap, or at least provide some light to illuminate your next step.
If a writing book isn’t helping you get to the page, then it’s the wrong one — put it down and try something else.
Here are three writing book possibilities for you. See if one sounds like a good fit.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott — This is the writing book to pick up if you want something really gentle and encouraging but still practical. Lamott kindly nudges you to the page while also giving you workable ideas to start the writing process.
Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different by Chuck Palahniuk — Best known as the author of Fight Club (enough said), Palahniuk doesn’t hold back in this memoir slash writing handbook. He’s blunt and a little weird, and I appreciated his unique voice pushing me to be objective about my own writing with concrete tips to make it stronger.
No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty — As an outliner, I thought I wouldn’t connect with a writing book with “no plot” in the title. But Baty’s scrappy, out-of-the-box approach was the nudge I needed to survive my first NaNoWriMo and get through those 50,000 words and to the end of my story in just one month. He encourages fun and imagination, especially in that first exploratory draft (which is exactly what NaNo is all about).
My first NaNo project was basically Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton fan fiction, and yes, it was very very bad. When my story well started to run dry, I thought about Baty’s tips to keep going. I sent my character to a party where she could interact with the old Hollywood names I daydream about. I let a Hedda Hopper type interview her over the phone. I kept moving through the story, and while I don’t think anyone ever needs to read the resulting manuscript, I learned a lot about having fun with the writing process.
Tool #2: Write by timer.
Set a timer and put it somewhere you can’t see it, then proceed to the page. This simple, free tool lets me get out of my own way when it’s time to write. The goal isn’t writing as much as possible before the timer runs out — it’s about freeing yourself from other distractions by protecting your time. The timer tells me that this moment is only for writing and I have no other worries, no tasks that need to be done, nothing to get in my way.
Tool #3: Get to the end.
As a rule, I write one story at a time, from beginning to end.
(Disclaimer: Every writer is different! This approach may not work for you.)
For me, this guideline serves three purposes:
Writing to the end means focusing on the story at hand and completing it before getting distracted by something shiny and new. If I were always chasing the next shiny new idea, I’d never complete a story.
Writing from beginning to end guides my next step after writing because I have my first, complete, exploratory draft in hand. Sometimes for whatever reason, a piece of writing doesn’t “work.” Maybe my excitement for it peters out, or I don’t have as much story as I envisioned, or I just have the feeling that I wrote it to get it out of my system and be able to move on to the next thing. No matter the reason, at least it won’t be a half-written idea floating out there and distracting me from the next project.
Linear writing incentivizes me to get to the next part of the story. I know I have to keep showing up to write the scene where they finally realize they should be together, or where everything falls apart, or where the hero has a life-changing revelation. When the initial excitement of starting to write something new wears off, the promise of the next scene I’m especially excited to write keeps me returning to my manuscript.
Are you in the thick of the wild NaNo woods right now? Have you thought about writing a novel in a month someday? I’d love to hear about your creative journey and the stories sustaining you along the way. Godspeed, and I’ll see you around the inbox.