The Writer's Conundrum

In order to write, one must write.

I am confident in the fact that although I have not gone through the rigorous education that some authors have, that I can produce an equally captivating book series using the references that come so easily to me, fantasy, magic and the occult. I also want to add adventure, humor and relatable struggle. People identify with struggle so wholeheartedly that I feel it plays a key element in any story. It’s the conflict that we are all addicted to.

The subtlety of writing can be maddening at times. Taking what is not there and filling it in with color, texture and a landscape, riddled with twists and complicated characters that are all interacting with one another. The blank page ignites with vivid renditions of the depths of a writer’s insane imagination.

I haven’t read many of the classics. Something within discourages me from doing so. I do remember some Shakespeare in school, and regardless of the fact that I hated him at the time, I have grown a greater appreciation for his work as an adult. My single, biggest angst against the classics (in literature, art and architecture) is the reproduced nature of its content. It all stands on the exact same legs, with slightly adjusted features to mask the fact that it’s a reproduction. A single formula that became the accepted norm since Roman times.

I have always tried to think outside of the box, so I apply that to my writing as well. I have learned (about myself) that my favorite heroes were the ones that saved themselves rather than be rescued. My favorite villains are ruthless beyond measure, never giving an inch, but their weakness is their faith in undeserving henchmen. See, it's because when the henchmen fail, they have to get their hands dirty. It's really messy being a villain! Most of my favorite villains are typically not women. I love the classically ruthless male villain. With all of these female villains cropping up in literature these days, I want to stick with my intuition and my personal likes as I continue to develop my book series. And my hero… she's weak, incredibly weak in the beginning… but with a powerful will. That will is what makes her strong beyond measure, because even though she relies at first on others to rescue her, she develops herself as her struggles become more complicated. She has no other option but to grow stronger. I love that!

I must enjoy challenges. I do. I bet you do too!

I’ve been working on my book series since 2015. I know, that sounds pathetic when you consider that I have gotten so far as the first book to the final editing stage… that’s not to mention the outline, character progressions and other twists and turns that I have filled two entire journals with… so, I’ve been productive. I had to walk away from it for a while because there were so many other things going on in my life that I was just unable to give my series the focus it deserved. I had to come to terms with this abandonment since it’s now 2021 and I have completed it after six years.

So, why can some people write a book in three months and others it takes years? After watching several authors from youtube describe their process and the time they dedicated to their project, I have come to some concrete conclusions.

Concise ideas and habits: When a writer can access the parts of their creativity where the ideas live, and they WRITE THEM DOWN. This gives the writer a “bank” to draw from for future projects, so they aren’t having to constantly come up with something new, they’ve already done the work, as a daily practice.

Writing Exercises: Sitting with your computer or journal (if you prefer longhand) to do some morning pages to clear out the clutter can be incredibly helpful in removing everything that might be in the way of the real gold that’s waiting to be expressed. In the same way a sculptor removes clay from a block with their tools, remove all the words you don’t want to write, so that only the ones you are looking for are left. There are lots of writing exercises you can employ as well. Some line editing perhaps. Maybe you need to find a way to say something different. Take one sentence… Lets use this one as an example. “I walked casually through the woods to clear my head.” Find all the different ways you can write that sentence to reflect wha you really want to convey. Maybe in the end, it would end up reading “To clear my mind, I took a much needed walk in the forest, which had become my mental sanctuary.” By doing this, you can see the possibilities open up in ways that are easily overlooked when you are just “getting things on paper.”

Collect Words: Do you have a place where you collect some of your favorite words? If the answer is no, then why not? You write, and those are your greatest tools for your chosen field. Words vary in language, culture and dialect. I have collected words for over twenty years now and have found that it is one of my greatest assets in recalling the precise feelings I wish to convey when I'm writing. Is something soft or is it plush? You can walk or stroll down the road. You can cry or you can weep. All of these simple examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Try taking one of your pieces of writing and just change out a few key words to see for yourself how powerful this exercise is.

Those are a few and certainly not all, but they are so profoundly useful that I don’t feel a need to add any more to this list. I use all of them, on any given day and I have noticed a dramatic shift in my writing, my writing practice and my style. As I progress with my book series, now in book 2, and no, I won’t put any spoilers out there yet folks, I have learned so much about what writing means to me. I have learned who I am through my characters and the landscapes I typically place them in. I have learned about the world and psychology overall by understanding the deeper way we communicate to one another as a species. I’ve learned why we fail, succeed, and struggle. I have learned why we need conflict to move us forward. At this point in my life I would be unable to stop writing even if I tried. It has become such an important part of who I am, that a piece of me would be missing.

Happy writing friends. I hope you enjoyed this article on writing. I think it’s important that we all keep encouraging one another and giving the tips and tricks that help us so that everyone can find what works best for them. Regardless of whether you are published, unpublished, write novels, poetry, fiction, fantasy and any other genre! Your work matters because you made it. No one else could have written it from your perspective, so please keep going. Your success is that you never quit!