“It’s the whole getting started thing for me. I forget how to write a book. The first ten thousand words are like digging fossils from rocks.” – J. T. Ellison
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16 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Does Writing Get Easier or Harder?”
Definitely harder, for every time I start something new.
J.T. sugar-coats it. It’s really much harder for me with each book.
Writing is always hard, especially starting a new book. But these days it is harder because of all the distractions of social media and marketing. What’s easier is delving into a series where you already know the main characters.
Easier. I’ve done it before, so, when I get stuck, I have a toolbox full of things i know have worked in the past to get me around something. Not saying it’s easy, but I have far less agita when I write now than when I was still figuring out which way to point the keyboard.
Easier, if only because I know I’ve done it before. It’s not virgin territory.
It’s both for me. Sometimes it feels like I have completely lost my touch and I can’t get any traction or footing in the early going. That is the current WIP standalone. But it is getting better now that I am past 100 pages because I know my characters better.
But my Louis series book, which I am doing at the same time, has been like easing into a warm swimming pool and floating fast and free.
Some Louis books over the past 15 yrs have come easy; others were like bad labor pains with no drugs. Our standalone set in Paris literally poured out of me in about three months. No rhyme or reason, is there?
I once heard Mike Connelly describe the process as pushing a giant boulder up a hill. It’s awful sweaty work and you feel like you’re going to lose your grip and get crushed. But then you crest the hill and the boulder takes off and it’s all you can do to run behind and keep up. When that moment happens, the process is utter joy for me.
Oh, I love that image–it’s perfect. And yes! When that happens it is magical!
Whew! So glad I’m not alone in thinking that!
This comment has been removed by the author.
I’ve heard some say they get bogged down in the muddled middle. For me, starting is the hardest part. By the time I’m about 1/3 into the story, my writing life is much better.
Agreed. I just finished my second cookbook and it was like pulling teeth to start it. Now that I’m done I realize I should not take a break and should start a new one, STAT! That way I will stay in the “groove.” (That said, all I want to do is putter in the garden…)
Never mind writing the book–that’s always hard. What’s close to impossible–at least for me–is learning the second, entirely different job, which is marketing.
It’s harder as my expectations rise with each new piece of writing. It seems I’m always chasing greatness.
Until your new characters come to life it is always hard. If it’s a series then you have a head start but even then your new bad guys need to become fully rounded. When they do you can fly.
It’s definitely the same for me. The first draft unearths the bones and I have to go on to flesh them out each draft that follows.
As I become more mature as a writer I see more different directions my story could take, and the decision-making makes the whole thing harder.
Definitely harder, for every time I start something new.
J.T. sugar-coats it. It’s really much harder for me with each book.
Writing is always hard, especially starting a new book. But these days it is harder because of all the distractions of social media and marketing. What’s easier is delving into a series where you already know the main characters.
Easier. I’ve done it before, so, when I get stuck, I have a toolbox full of things i know have worked in the past to get me around something. Not saying it’s easy, but I have far less agita when I write now than when I was still figuring out which way to point the keyboard.
Easier, if only because I know I’ve done it before. It’s not virgin territory.
It’s both for me. Sometimes it feels like I have completely lost my touch and I can’t get any traction or footing in the early going. That is the current WIP standalone. But it is getting better now that I am past 100 pages because I know my characters better.
But my Louis series book, which I am doing at the same time, has been like easing into a warm swimming pool and floating fast and free.
Some Louis books over the past 15 yrs have come easy; others were like bad labor pains with no drugs. Our standalone set in Paris literally poured out of me in about three months. No rhyme or reason, is there?
I once heard Mike Connelly describe the process as pushing a giant boulder up a hill. It’s awful sweaty work and you feel like you’re going to lose your grip and get crushed. But then you crest the hill and the boulder takes off and it’s all you can do to run behind and keep up. When that moment happens, the process is utter joy for me.
Oh, I love that image–it’s perfect. And yes! When that happens it is magical!
Whew! So glad I’m not alone in thinking that!
This comment has been removed by the author.
I’ve heard some say they get bogged down in the muddled middle. For me, starting is the hardest part. By the time I’m about 1/3 into the story, my writing life is much better.
Agreed. I just finished my second cookbook and it was like pulling teeth to start it. Now that I’m done I realize I should not take a break and should start a new one, STAT! That way I will stay in the “groove.” (That said, all I want to do is putter in the garden…)
Never mind writing the book–that’s always hard. What’s close to impossible–at least for me–is learning the second, entirely different job, which is marketing.
It’s harder as my expectations rise with each new piece of writing. It seems I’m always chasing greatness.
Until your new characters come to life it is always hard. If it’s a series then you have a head start but even then your new bad guys need to become fully rounded. When they do you can fly.
It’s definitely the same for me. The first draft unearths the bones and I have to go on to flesh them out each draft that follows.
As I become more mature as a writer I see more different directions my story could take, and the decision-making makes the whole thing harder.