May I offer a suggestion to writers who are struggling with a manuscript?
I’ve talked with a number of folks who tell me they’ve been massaging a book idea for months, if not years.
“I’ve been working on this manuscript for five years and have about twenty thousand words. It feels like I’m going slow, because I keep going back to improve a paragraph here, or rewriting these sentences after I finished Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. And then I read James Lee Burke’s newest novel, and his descriptions are beautiful, so I went back…”
As one who says there are no rules in writing, I wait for Budding Author to finish.
“And because I have to write between taking the kids to school, my job, picking the kids up and hauling them to practice, I kind of get lost where I am and go back and read what I’ve written. That’s so depressing, because everything I have on paper needs work, so I go back and tweak it again –––.”
“Can I interrupt?” I grab Budding Author’s shirt for a good, old-fashioned shake, slap, and backslap.
“Please.”
“I assume you know the absolute basics of building a house.” We’re nose to nose as I continue. “You’ve seen them going up, right?”
“Of course.”
“So what do they first?”
“Draw up blueprints?”
“Good enough. They have an idea of how they want the floorplan to flow.”
“I suppose.”
“Bear with me here…” Slap, slap, slap. “The floorplan comes first, along with mental images of what a builder wants. From there the architect draws the foundation plan, then plumbing, electrical, elevations, everything necessary for construction. The foundation is the first step on site.
Budding Author raises both hands to glory. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
The next shake is for emphasis. “Visualize this. The floorplan is your idea of a story.”
“I can see the whole thing like a movie in my head, I just need to write it down.”
“Well, you see bits and pieces that flow, and that’s just fine, but all that visualization comes together on top of the foundation. Slab or pier and beam, it doesn’t matter, but it must be solid and square.”
“I’m getting the idea!” Budding Author’s eyes brighten even more.
I refust to turn loose of this person’s shirt, lest they quit concentrating. “Next comes the framing. All those wall have to go up to support the roof which is the first step to completion. The roof protects everything under construction below.”
“I thought we were talking about manuscirpts.”
“We are! But here’s what builders don’t do. They don’t finish the living room before moving on. There’s no electrical, plumbing, or sheetrock before the rest of the house. There are no windows when the rest of the house is still nothing more than sticks. No trim, fixtures, or paint. No carpet or flooring while they’re still framing the bedrooms. No furniture, drapes, pictures on the walls, or the installation of that sixty-inch television. Are you getting this?”
“Kinda. So what do the builders do, then?”
“They press on with the whole project as a whole, working forward to completion, and then they add all those final touches.”
“I get it! You’re saying write the damn book to the end and don’t get caught in that whirlpool of going back over and over to make the pages perfect before moving on to the next!” The light bulb goes on over Budding Author’s head and that excited individual dances with glee, tearing away from my grip.
“You’re right. Plow forward until you reach the end and then go back to edit, and edit, which is all the finish work in that house we were talking about.”
Budding Author rushes away to work and I smile in satisfaction, because it took me a good long while to learn how to get the first draft done by pushing forward to follow the story while it’s still fresh in your mind and evolving.
Follow the story. Write the book, then get out the paint and polish.
Very wise advice, Reavis.
This neatly fits on an index card to be kept at hand (or taped on wall) as needed:
“Get the first draft done by pushing forward to follow the story while it’s still fresh in your mind and evolving.”
It’s too easy to get bogged down in fixing details, and when you do, you lose momentum, and the story starts to drift away from you. Write, consistently and at a good pace for you, keeping yourself in the story and pushing forward until the end.
Then you can fix and improve as needed.
“I get it! You’re saying write the damn book to the end…”
You can let go of my shirt now, Rev, because By Jove, I think I’ve got it! This was a great kick in the pantaloons for me.
Have a great day, but try not to do any more slapping for a few hours, okay?
🙂
Beautiful! Reassuring to me as I recently began my latest WIP. I’m just putting the bones together to make a body of work. The makeup is applied last.
Reavis, you are missing your header.
Many new writers obsesses over style and voice when the point is to write enough dang words and stories to find your voice instead of copying someone else’s. The standard “it takes half a million words to find your voice” advice given everywhere. Plus, “finish your dang story then worry about making the words flow and sparkle.”
“First get it written, then get it right” goes the old saying. There is room for editing the previous day’s work, lightly, and then moving on. The obsessive way worked for Proust, but I note he did not write thrillers.
I like that old saying, Jim! Thanks for re-saying it…
“There is room for editing the previous day’s work, lightly, and then moving on.”
Amen, James. If one hasn’t left the m/s at an obvious path forward (best), one can usually regain momentum by doing a quick pass at the very last part.
Nicely put. Too easily overlooked.
“. . . a good, old-fashioned shake, slap, and backslap.”
If you “think through it” on the forehand slap, you can omit the backhand part.