Just like I knew would happen, after I published my writing truths last Monday, I thought of others, and I was reminded of some by you guys in the comments. Here are my 8 additions:
Write purple
This refers to a Writing Advice Examined post of mine from a couple years ago, “Should You Write The Book of Your Heart?”
In that post, I talked about how there are three categories of story ideas for me:
- That sounds fun, but it would be tough to sell for reason x, y, and z.
- I think that’s a really marketable premise . . . but I don’t know that I’m excited enough to write it.
- I love this idea. And I think if I tweak this and this, I could sell it.
My current target is always #3. Stories that fall in the purple space:
“Purple stories” land in the beautiful overlap of stories I love to write and stories readers love to buy. Again, this is my personal writing truth. You may only care about writing what you want to write, or you may only care about writing what will sell. Most published writers look for that happy middle place.
There’s no final destination on this journey.
Or as Jeep said in one of their slogans from a couple years ago, “The journey is in the destination.”
I definitely did not realize this when I was an aspiring author. I viewed “getting published” as my destination, and it wasn’t until after I signed my contract that I realized it wasn’t. That in many ways, it was just the beginning.
Shannon wrote a great post that included this idea a few weeks ago called, “What I wish I’d Known When I Decided To Pursue Writing As A Career.”
Show up. Be authentic. Repeat.
These are my three rules for creating art that matters.
No matter what season of life I’m in, I can do this to some capacity. Even if I’m not getting to write as much as I would like, or all my books are getting rejected, I can still show up at my computer, be my authentic self, and do it again the next day.
“Just 25 minutes.”
Some days, I cannot wait to get back to my story. Sometimes I carry around a notebook with me because inspiration is flowing heavy, and I don’t want to miss any of it.
Other days, I’m tempted to shrug off writing and do something else. When I find myself super tired or distracted, I pull out my timer and tell myself, “You just have to write for 25 minutes. When the timer goes off, you can be done for the day, guilt-free.”
I hardly ever take myself up on that offer, because 25 minutes later I remember that the hardest part is getting started. That once I’m going, I want to keep going. A writer in motion stays in motion.
Creativity is like a river.
Do you ever worry that you’re using up too many good ideas in your story? Or do you ever have the thought, “That’s a really good plot twist idea. I better save that for the end.”
I’ve had to train myself to not hoard ideas. To trust that I can use my best ideas now and know that more “best ideas” are coming. I adore how Sage Cohen puts this idea in her book Fierce on the Page:
“Nothing coming through is too precious to let go. The more you release, the more you receive.”
Fierce on the Page by Sage Cohen
It’s just my ego.
When my book is rejected by an editor or publicly criticized on Goodreads or Amazon, that really hurts.
Even something small like posting a picture on Instagram and getting 4 likes and 0 comments can leave me feeling hurt.
In those moments, I feel like a failure, and I’m tempted to quit. But I’m learning to recognize those failures for what they are: A bruise to my ego. Those failures don’t touch who I am as a person—not if I don’t let them—and my ego will heal.
Keep the door closed.
Stephen King teaches in his classic writing book that the first draft is for our eyes only and that we should keep our door closed, whether it’s a metaphorical door or a real one. He says:
The door closes the rest of the world out; it also serves to close you in and keep you focused on the job at hand.
On Writing by Stephen King
This is something I’ve talked about a ton on Go Teen Writers, but my first drafts are for me alone. Any time I’ve broken my rule about that, I’ve regretted it.
Don’t let fear drive.
Elizabeth Gilbert talks in Big Magic about how fear and creativity are linked and you can’t get one without the other. I love how she handles her fear, telling it that she and creativity are going on a road trip and that she knows fear will be coming along too. She tells fear:
You’re allowed to have a seat, and you’re allowed to have a voice, but you are not allowed to have a vote … Above all else, my dear old familiar friend, you are absolutely forbidden to drive.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
It’s easiest for me to spot fear in my kids. As my husband and I encourage them to try new things, they’re riddled with doubts and fears. Some of their fears make total sense to me (that really big water slide at the city pool) and others don’t (Eli’s fear of giving up diapers. C’mon, dude…)
We don’t want get rid of all our fear, because fear is useful for keeping us safe. Being afraid of falling is what causes you to triple-check the ladder to be sure it’s secure against the side of the house before you climb up.
But for many of us, our fear is always trying to move out of the passenger seat and into the driver’s seat. When we let fear drive, instead of just advising, we can unknowingly shut down adventure, joy, and freedom in our lives.
What’s something you’ve recently learned or discovered about writing?
Oh, that last one––I needed to hear that. I loved both this post and the last one, so thank you for writing them!
Something I just discovered about my own writing in the last week or so is that I’ve been trying too hard to write in a way that doesn’t work for me. I hadn’t even realized I was doing it, but giving myself the freedom to just write the way it comes––at least for this season––will hopefully continue to renew my excitement for writing.
Jerah, that’s an amazing discovery. It’s such a hard balance sometimes between trying methods that work for others and recognizing what we know to be true about our own process. I’m honored that we get to be a part of your writing journey!