Monday, July 9, 2012

Stop Writing!


By Erin Cashman

I am a person who loves making lists. Sometimes I add things to my list that I have already finished, just so I can cross it off. I love finishing things. I love painting rooms in my house, because in the course of a couple of days I can start and finish it. I can walk into the room and see that it was green, and now it is yellow. It is tangible.
While I write, I am not someone who feels terrified by the blank page. Once I have an idea for a book, it takes all of my self-control not to start writing it. I literally have to force myself to wait, take some notes, and let the idea germinate inside my head for a while before I start writing the story. I also never get writer’s block. If I can’t think of what to do next, I write in caps PUT SOMETHING INTERESTING HERE or FIGURE THIS OUT. And then I start a new chapter, or I write another part of the book. I am so eager to finish the book once I start it. I always know generally how it will end, so I want to hurry up and get there!
But as all of you writers know, writing a novel is neither a quick nor an easy process, and when I try to make it one, it shows. During my journey from aspiring published author to published author I have learned so much. For me, the hardest lesson has been this: when you aren’t sure where your story is going, or how to handle a character or a relationship, STOP WRITING. Shut your computer and walk away. Literally. Take a walk, take a nap, go for a long drive, bake cookies. Do something that does not require thinking at all. Don’t go on the internet, read a book or watch television. Let your mind wander. I find my best ideas almost always come when I’m walking my dog. I usually start out thinking about an issue with one of my kids, or a problem with work. But soon into the quiet rhythm of the walk (no ipods!) my mind wanders. Within a few days of NOT thinking about my book, the solution almost always simply comes to me. It may be on the walk, or it may be as I lie in bed somewhere in the never-land between dream and reality, or it may be as I’m driving alone in the car (no radio or cell phones!) In our very busy, hectic lives, we have so few times when we allow our minds to wander freely. And yet -- at least for me -- these are the times when my imagination takes over and inspiration hits me like a lightning bolt.
If you’re like me, and you set goals for yourself like x pages a day, or so many words a week, or a first draft by a certain date, my advice might be hard to take. It will take you longer to finish that first draft -- to cross it off your list. But sometimes the best ideas come not when we are sitting in front of the computer screen, or with a pen perched in our fingers, but when we tune everything out and listen.
Inspiration often whispers softly in our ear, and we may need to tune everything else out to hear her.



13 comments:

  1. Great ideas, Erin. I usually solve problems by stopping and doing something different, too! We just need to free up our brains to brainstorm sometimes instead of trying to stay on task every minute.

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  2. This is great Erin and SO true. I'm a list maker too, and I don't think it goes well with the career we've chosen. LOL

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  3. I think this is very good advice, you are so right that ideas come to us when our mind is on other things, like running for me. I don't follow it enough.

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  4. I think this is so spot on. Last week, I was totally stuck and staring at my computer screen was not helping. I went on a drive to the place where I had set my story. I mean, this place is not nearby. And while driving and hiking in the woods, the characters, who were noticeably silent up until that point, started taking shape. They actually became rather mouthy. Yay! This is great advice, Erin.

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  5. I agree Ellen, lists and writing don't go well together!

    I think sometimes we feel guilty, Julie, for taking the break when we "should" be writing. I don't follow this advice enough, either, but when I do I am always so glad that I did. When I stick it out in front of the computer, my writing can feel forced.

    It's great that you took that time away from writing, Priscille - and that your characters hijacked your trip!

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  6. Great post, Erin. So true that we tend to confuse action with progress, and to fill our heads with noise from iPods, phones, TV, radio, etc. when we feel that little panic attack start (the one that begins, "oh, man, I'm never going to be smart enough to do this chapter/rewrite/scene/sentence." Thanks for the reminder.

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    1. Thanks Holly. I love how you put it - confusing action with progress. I have to constantly remind myself that one short well written scene is better than a whole chapter, and taking a walk or a drive and letting my mind wander isn't wasted time.

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  7. So true, Erin. I spend my life trying to persuade my perfectionist son to stop studying, to walk away from an essay and come back with fresh eyes. I need to remember to do the same. Great advice!

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    1. Thanks Barbara! It is easier to give advice than to take it!

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  8. You sound like me as a writer. I always have those notes all over my manuscripts, although during editing sometimes I get writer's block where I have to take a walk or something like you said because I wrote "FIX IT" and I don't know how to fix it yet still.

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    1. You sound exactly like me! Yesterday I wrote, "PUT SOMETHING INTERESTING HERE" - that will require a long walk during the editing process, I'm sure!

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