There are as many writing processes as there are writers. Some plot for months before writing a word. Others start with an idea and immediately start writing by the seat of their pants. Some write every scene before considering rewriting. Others will spend all day on just one page, getting it perfect before moving on to the next.
Of all the different processes that exist, I have not heard of a single writer that writes their book perfectly on the first shot.
We all know rewriting is part of the plan. That no matter how you write, no matter how much you write, no matter what type of story you write, there will need to be editing and revising. Some of us enjoy it more than others (I’m strongly in the revisions are torture camp 😁, but I have some friends whose favorite part of the process is revising, just another way we are all different).
Lately I have been struggling to write. I know where the difficult comes from. It’s a combination of not having enough time to feel invested in my stories and characters, exhaustion, limited mental space (toddler mom life is not for the weak), and putting too much pressure on myself to do something amazing, since it has been so long since my last release. But I am finding it increasingly difficult to get words on the page. I get so fixated on the words being good, right, perfect, that I can spend twenty minutes with a thesaurus trying to find just the right word for a scene that I end up with very few new words by the time I’m done. Even though I know, as I said above, that I can’t possibly get it right the first time, I am still desperately trying to.
Frustrated by my lack of progress over the last few months, I’ve been actively trying to overcome this block by forcing myself to just write something.
When I am staring at the page, or about to do my third thesaurus search, I tell myself just write something. A quick description of what is happening, a simple expression of their emotions, a single action, and then I move on. It doesn’t have to be right. In fact, it won’t be. But just write something, so you can get to the next sentence, the next paragraph, the next page. I tell myself I’m just putting it down and I’ll rewrite it later, which is true either way. As I said, no one can write perfectly the first time. But if you never write anything, you don’t even have the chance to perfect it the next time.
And amazingly, it’s been working. Over the last few weeks, I’ve started to feel more connection with my story. I am going back and rewriting many of these ‘just write something’ sentences, filling them in with more delicate wording or more detailed descriptions. Improving them to be closer to my vision. Sometimes they just don’t apply entirely and need to be totally rewritten once I read the wider scope of the story. And that’s okay. In fact, that’s perfect. Because I’m writing. I’m getting to know my characters again. Their stories again. And I am discovering what is true and not true at the same time. Every word written is a step closer to a completed story, even if those words fall on the cutting room floor.
A lot of life is the same. People are often afraid of taking a step, making a move, afraid to make the wrong one, when in truth, doing nothing is probably a worst decision. Doing nothing keeps you frozen. Doing nothing keeps you further from completing that book.
Further from repainting your house. Further from starting that business. Further from whatever goal you want to achieve.
And while writing down the wrong word—when I know it’s the wrong word—just to keep moving is a very small step, it is at least a step in the right direction. And I’ll take a baby step over standing still any day.
If you’re struggling with a project, or a goal, or anything you want to do, think about what baby steps you can accomplish. Even if you are unsure. Even if you know it’s not the perfect step. Because sometimes doing the wrong thing is far worse than doing nothing.
