On writing

I am on vacation this week and have tried successfully to connect with a friend. But getting down to her office in the middle of the day has proven to be a problem. My vacation is going to be extended an additional day and hopefully I will hook up with my friend tomorrow.

This is particularly important to me for two reasons: 1, She provided me with the idea for "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" and suggested the murder weapon. And 2, she told me she wants to write a novel.

When we didn't hook up for lunch today, she wrote me to say, "I've got some pieces to my novel. It's about relationships. It's the next Catcher in the Rye. Ha! It involves family, murder and business. I know that sounds boring, but... I just have to get started."

I wrote her back and this, in part, is what I said in response.

Writing your novel will take a lot of discipline and determination, far more than I can even begin to explain. That is because people will cheer you on and say they support you but when your writing inconveniences them to the slightest degree, they will turn on you.

Several suggestions:

1, To begin with, you will need to write EVERYDAY. If you decide to take a day off, it should be the same day every week, say Sunday. That is up to you. But it will be important to dedicate yourself to writing everyday.

2, Set a goal of how much you intend to write everyday and stick to it. Even if you feel like you are stuck, write anyway. Get something down on paper, regardless of how good or bad it is, everyday.

3, Pick a time and place where you can be alone and most likely won't be bothered. In your case, I'd suggest getting up early in the morning and writing before work. You must cut the distractions down to a minimum.

4, Write even when you don't think you have much to say. The important thing is to write __ getting it all down on paper (so to speak). It won't matter if the first draft is crappy. You can improve it later, which you will do even if it isn't crappy.

5, Join a writer's group. Other writers will encourage you and your writing, will help hold you accountable for getting it done, and will provide informative insights into your work-in-progress. But be careful not to focus so much on what you have written that you don't move forward and write what comes next.

6, Write what you know. Anything that you don't know, make a notation in the text and move on. You can do the research on that part later and then add what you need to add.

Lastly, you just have to eliminate or deal with anything that will distract you from finishing. Distractions are EVERYWHERE. EVERYWHERE! They include, but are not exclusive to, your boyfriend, your job, your friends, the enormity of the task, your own laziness and willingness to make excuses for yourself.

That last one is particularly important because you might be able to eliminate most of the other distractions but that last one will always be there.

It took me years to finish writing my first novel. And I had good reasons for it taking so long but in the end, it was laziness and a willingness to make excuses.

I encourage you to do it. Believe me, you will feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment once you finish your first draft. It's a great feeling.



So that's what I wrote my friend. I think it is good advice for all novice writers.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.