In my business, I am not always the first call and I like it that way. Call me weird, but I love being called in to fix writing that isn’t working. Luckily, there always will be those clients who think they can write their own scripts, speeches and manuscripts. They think taking English classes in high school and college means is enough preparation, and sometimes it is. Then again, sometimes it is not.
I have a friend who asked me recently what he should write, not because he did not have ideas, but because he had too many. I suggested he write what kept him up at night—the idea that begged to be put on the page, the one that would not let go. When he complained writing was difficult when he was distracted by the multitude of ideas I referred him to my favorite book about writing: Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Marie Rilke.
Last week I shared my favorite gadgets and gizmos. This week I am focusing on programs. While I am not a huge user of apps, I do find a few helpful and have looked into other that I don’t use yet but plan to add to my capabilities.
I am the first to admit I am not enamored of all things electronic. I tend to be a bit old school, but I do have my favorite things, which I am going to share today.
The reason I am not fond of many gadgets and apps is that I find they confuse things and make them harder than they should be or at least more cumbersome. When it comes to research and writing, I like to keep things fairly simple, but that is not to say I don’t use technology. I do and the things I use I swear by. Don’t try to take them away from me. You will get hurt.
There are those who will try to convince you writer’s block exists, that it is a curse on writers the world over. I do not agree. There is no bad luck associated with writing. There is only the state of writing or not writing. The first is created by sitting down and stringing words together until they resemble sentences and then putting those sentences into paragraphs and repeating until you have a finished piece, or at least a rough draft.
We all procrastinate. Or nearly all of us and those who don’t are not normal, in my humble opinion.
Somehow the idea (or fact) of facing a blank page brings out the desire to do anything but that. Clean the fridge. The litter. Reorganize my LPs. It doesn’t matter. There always comes a time when in my writing when I feel compelled to do other things to avoid what I am writing. The problem with that is that writing is my career. If I avoid it, I don’t get paid.
Have you ever noticed when you have a good story to tell or a secret, your entire body tingles with the anticipation of sharing it? It is nearly impossible to keep it in. To guard it.
That is the nature of a story. It is how we feel when we start drafting our social media post while in the moment, like we are narrating our own life to an unknown audience. It is a bit wonky, but part of being a writer, I think.
One of the question asked most often of authors is “Where do you get your ideas?” Unfortunately, the answer is rarely helpful.
Ideas are everywhere. I find them on walks, in the shower, while listening to music, eavesdropping (a habit I have despite being taught it was impolite), driving. You get the idea. They lurk wherever life can be found.
I spoke to my son’s school recently about writing and the thing that excited the kids most was when I talked about plot bunnies. True, the photos of cute bunnies helped. A lot. Because who doesn’t like bunnies?
Here is what I told them:
Ideas multiply. It’s a fact. It’s physics. Energy begets energy. Ideas beget ideas.
I get a lot of ideas when I write. The come from what I’ve written, from my research and from my characters themselves. Sometimes it is a line I write that doesn’t quite fit my current story, but that sparks a new one. Most often, though, it is an idea to fill a hole in my plot I hadn’t realized was there.
Life is distracting. There is no doubt about that. Texts ding. Calls ring. Cats need petting. Children want food. There are so many distractions. Even ideas can be distractions.
There is something about the new and shiny that demands attention. Even new ideas. They are exciting and the urge to drop everything and follow where they lead is a strong one. Unfortunately, it is also a great way to end up with a hundred unfinished manuscripts.
There comes a time in everyone’s life when you have to embrace who you are, faults and flaws included, although we may try to avoid being that truthful with ourselves. We love to tell ourselves lies—calories don’t count on Sunday, I’ll make up for it tomorrow. In the end, though, we are ourselves whether we own up to it or not. These lies hamper us and our writing.