In How to Grow a Novel, Sol Stein cites many examples about how to write, how to get ideas, and how to keep at it until you finish it. One of the prime examples he uses that erases all the excuses I have ever heard is about a writer known as Christy Brown.
Stein, as publisher, got to know Brown well. Brown wrote five books including a bestselling novel, Down All the Days. He appeared on the Today Show, The David Frost Show, and others; and his life was the subject of a movie. These achievements may not sound too impressive until one realizes that Christy Brown had use only of the little toe on his left foot. IBM made a special typewriter for him, and he penned each of his books one-toe tap at a time. Now, what did you say your excuse is?
Need more encouragement? In Get that Novel Started! (And Keep It Going Until You Finish), Donna Levin recommends approaching writing a novel as you would running a marathon. Training is the key. That's right--training. How does one train to write? You need to find ways to write a little bit each day and then gradually increase that time into a longer period that you are comfortable with writing for that specific time period on a daily basis. Levin's 10-Minute Prescription asks that you write for a mere 10 minutes a day for the first few weeks. You read that right, only 10 minutes. Beg, borrow, steal, connive a friend, co-worker, or significant other to take care of the kids, but grab that 10 minutes to write. Then just write. Write fast and furiously!
Levin is not crazy. She knows you probably won't get your novel done in these 10-minute sessions. She believes that once the wedge of 10 minutes is in place--encouraging you to follow your dream to get writing into your life and to start accumulating some pages--it may be all the prodding you need to delight in the writing that you are doing. You will begin to find more time. You will begin to take on a new challenge to write more seriously once you see what you can do in 10 minutes. Next, think if I can do all this in just 10 minutes, imagine what a half-hour or an hour a day would do. What is crucial, as far as Levin is concerned, is that you write everyday, seven days a week at the beginning. She says the habit of daily writing will stimulate your subconscious to work on your project even during your non-writing time.
We have talked about finding time and making time in your busy schedule. We have not discussed the "lucky" person who can stay home all day and write. If you have ever had a block of time show up suddenly that you can use exclusively to write, you know the potential problem. It's the reverse of not enough time, and it is equally as daunting and dangerous. This person, too, may need to begin with 10 minutes a day of writing, scheduling appointments with herself to arrive at the computer or notepad and begin. Perhaps you may need to go as far as to plan out the whole day with breaks in writing time for exercise and lunch with friends. By bracketing the writing parts of the day with other activities, it gives the day more structure. Your chances of success will be greatly enhanced. Maybe you need to join a writer's group to have someone to critique your work, to prove that you've accomplished something in your unscheduled day. It will, at least, give you incentive to produce.
You may need to experiment to find what it takes to get you into your 10 minutes of daily writing. There are as many ways of getting started as there are authors who begin their writing each day. Experiment until you find your best start. Whatever it takes, make sure you write daily to get your muse going. Just Write!
Billie A. Williams, WritingNow.com-Blueberry Press Contributing Editor, is the author of Death by Candlelight, Fire at Thunder Ridge, Tung Umolomo, and Writing Wide, and she is a co-author of Writing Tips Galore.
Excerpted from Writing Tips Galore.
Correction: Please note that on page 77 in the e-book, Writing Tips Galore, from which this article is excerpted, the introductory sentence inadvertently uses the word, "site" instead of the correct word, "cite."
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