I don’t believe in writer’s block.
The number one secret to writing an unforgettable scene is just to write.
You can’t fix an empty page.
I had a choir teacher in middle school who used to say to us, “Make a big loud mistake. I can fix a mistake I can hear so sing out so I can hear if you are on or off.”
The same thing goes here. You may tear half of what you write out of your finished product or you might not, but if it never makes it to the page there is no story. So the number one secret is simple, and yet profound:
Just write.
Just get it down so you can work on it.
Go all the way through to the end, and then look back.
Don’t second-guess yourself. Just write. Promise yourself you will write for ten minutes. It is an exercise routine for your writing skill. Commit to ten minutes and you will find yourself writing (much) more.
I used to wait for the perfect time or when I was inspired, but like any art it is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration.
I watched my dad write every day. Every single day. The only things that kept him from sitting at the typewriter were a travel day or book tour and even then he was writing down notes and researching – reading books, studying maps and talking to people who had the knowledge he needed.
Waiting for the muse to appear is a dream. If you are a writer, you write.
Every day or as often as you can. Right now my daughter is doing her homework, my husband is playing the guitar and I am writing this to you. As soon as I finish I will go back to rewrites on my current book.
Get going. You have every reason to tell your story.
4 Responses
Jim Kivimaki
In 1982, my best friend Jimmy was killed on a motorcycle. The next day, I started to
tell stories of our misadventures, thru out our life, that we spent in growing up
together. In time, started to get ignored but, I had stories to tell I started to write
them down poetically and yes,in time.I grew out of writing about Jimmy and I kept
writing.Poems about everything and in time.I started to write short stories,some not so good,some ok but writing for me is a learning curve and that was than and this is now 35 yrs later when I am never without a scratch pad and pen, still writing.
Angelique L’Amour
Just keep writing. Honor your gift and publish them and share with the world you never know who you will reach. Thank you for writing.
Rick Amitin
I didn’t grow up a reader. I was/am an incurable thinker. During a period when I didn’t have TV I discovered your father’s books. I didn’t stop until I read every one. If I could have chosen my period to live I would have been a cowboy, been the first man on horseback to ride over the mountain ranges of California and settled a piece of land that was empty and waiting for us to meet. Seeing your name today brought me back to the many nights I sat up reading as my family slept. I was alive in those pages. It’s so nice to meet you!
Angelique L’Amour
This is so lovely. Thank you for sharing your thoughts–it always makes me smile to hear how my dad’s work has affected someone’s life.