One Word at a Time

Writing a story sounds so easy in theory. Words form sentences. Sentences form paragraphs and those paragraphs turn into pages. Before you know it, you've written 10,000 words.

Of course, writing is never as easy as it seems.

There are days when the words flow free like a rushing river. You feel productive. There is no limit to the creative ideas within your mind. It's a wonderful feeling!

And then there are the days when getting the words to form into something remotely tangible is a struggle. It's like trying to coax a brilliant idea out only for it to retreat. The words come but they come slow.

I always wanted to write a novel. Even if it ended up being the only one I ever wrote.

Anyone who has ever written one or several will tell you that writing a novel takes time, patience, and a hell of a lot of dedication.

The thing about writing a novel is that often we think of it as a massive project. One that's almost unattainable.

While it is true that only about 3% of those who start a novel actually finish it, we have to realize what those 3% must have realized at some point when they wrote their novel.

You have to write it one word at a time.

And each of those words are inspired by small ideas. The little ideas that come to you at the most random and yes! Sometimes most inconvenient time! Small ideas that you might not think twice about. Ideas you might even question if they're even worth entertaining.

Each idea we have for our story is like a puzzle piece. One puzzle piece alone is useless but when put together with those other hundreds to thousands of pieces, piece by piece, those puzzle pieces form a masterpiece.

In a sense, ideas work the same way.

In the beginning, I didn't realize how important the connections between my ideas was in forming a whole story until much later when I took a step back and looked at my story as a whole.

Now I think back at those little sparks of ideas I had. Ideas that seemed insignificant at first while I speculated what should happen next in my story. Ideas that would develop my characters further. Ideas that would connect with other ideas much like puzzle pieces to create an a ha! moment and finally connect a plot hole that had been gaping open and had no idea how to resolve.

It's funny how that sort of thing works with writing!

Every time I look down at the word count of my draft, not only am I reminded of my persistence, I'm also given a surprising realization that each scene, each paragraph I struggled to form developed into the characters and the story it is now. I knew at least a few of those ideas were meaningful but it didn't really hit me until I looked back at them as a whole and saw them much like puzzle pieces forming a whole puzzle.

I should note that this "one word at a time" mindset applies to all forms of writing. Whether you're writing a novel, a poem, or just another story here on Vocal. No matter how long or short the story is, it does not take away from the significance of putting one word in front of the other.

Writing can be overwhelming at times. There will be many times when the finish line - that chance to finally write "The End" feels distant. The words might come slow. Some days, they might not come at all. But we need to take a step back and remember to take the story ...

One word at a time.