I've been thinking about writing my book since July last year. I've been brainstorming and talking about it, writing notes everywhere and creating this world in my head.
Finally it's time to write. I have a new computer, I have Scrivener and I know where my story needs to head.... but something is stopping me. I hit a roadblock and so I procrastinate. My FH tells me to JUST WRITE! He says it doesn't matter how terrible it is now, so just keep writing. But I'm struggling.
I could just write, but I feel it's a bad way to start off. If you know you're book is terrible, do you just keep going and deal with it later or do you sit there and try and try to fix it?
Finally it's time to write. I have a new computer, I have Scrivener and I know where my story needs to head.... but something is stopping me. I hit a roadblock and so I procrastinate. My FH tells me to JUST WRITE! He says it doesn't matter how terrible it is now, so just keep writing. But I'm struggling.
I could just write, but I feel it's a bad way to start off. If you know you're book is terrible, do you just keep going and deal with it later or do you sit there and try and try to fix it?
Forget about quality! My first draft was chock-full of garbage and/or nonsensical writing, and afterwards I was able to sort out what worked and what didn't, and rewrite what needed to be rewritten. But I think if you're not enjoying yourself, maybe you're not writing the right thing, or you're not being totally honest with your writing. Either way, you shouldn't sit there and try to fix anything. That will get you nowhere fast.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't think there's any way around writing a cruddy first draft. In BIRD BY BIRD Anne Lamott discusses how this is par for the course even with seasoned authors. I think you just have to start writing even if it's terrible. Usually I find after a few minutes of writing junk the words start to flow a little better. I know it's easier said than done, but sometimes you just have to push through that mental block. Keep in mind that once you go through the revision process your book will likely look very different anyway, so much of what you write now will either change or be edited out.
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