Time to Write
Eschewing Opinions
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In this issue:
Time to Write
Writing Prompt
WWT Tool Kit Craft Card
Time to Write
If you spend any time learning your craft, you inevitably bump up against other people’s opinions about how to do it. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably absorbed a lot of those opinions.
Like, I used to have this little fear2 that if I didn’t take my time writing and revising a story then the book wasn’t gonna be very good. Why did I think this? Because of advice like:
Writing is revising.
You can’t revise what’s not on the page.
Write fast; revise slow.
Thing is, taking your time doesn’t necessarily create a bad book . . . but it doesn’t necessarily create a good book either.
Time’s actually got nothing to do with it, aside from the duh fact that writing takes time, some amount of time.
How much time? It depends.
Does time spent correlate with greatness (or sales)? Not even a little bit.
The idea that it does correlate is just a bunch of hooey we’ve been fed, mostly by people who don’t even write stories. They edit them. Or publish them. Or wish they could write them but merely critique them.
One thing I’ve noticed is that the greater the writer is—the more prolific, the greater number of sales—the less opinionated they seem to be about how to write. Not that they don’t have an opinion about what works for them, just that they don’t insist you do it like them or you’ll fail.
Does that correlate with greatness? On the rise, not just at the peak?
I wouldn’t be surprised. Probably more so than time.
Writing Prompt
Character: JUDGE
Light Attribute: Balancing justice and compassion. Managing the fair distribution of power.
Shadow Attributes: Offering only destructive criticism. Misusing business, legal, or criminal authority.Setting: An attic.
Object: Doll, photographs, telescope.
Emotion: INSPIRED. Moved, stimulated, challenged.
WWT Tool Kit Craft Card
As mentioned before, I’m making a deck of craft cards to quickly remind myself of techniques while also having a convenient place to keep track of elements like character, conflict, and theme specific to each story. This week’s card is a repeat, a reminder to go easy on yourself.
Thank you for reading!
I hope this helped you, and I hope your writing goes well this week.
Keep at it,
Megan
WritesWithTools
site: writeswithtools.com
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Okay, you got me. I’m still getting over it.