Aquilae Non
Capiunt Muscas - Eagles Don't Catch Flies
Knowing What
You Have To Do Is Half The Battle
Studies show us that we have a limited amount
of decision making power every day. Once we use it up, our self control goes
down. This is why a lot of top executives automat simple decisions, using meal
delivery services (so they only have to decide what to eat once a month when
ordering) and wearing the same outfit every day (think Steve Jobs). This is why
I suggest writing first, if it is a priority. However there are plenty of
people who write late and do well, so I wouldn't call it a hard and fast rule.
Regardless, if you have to make a lot of hard decisions in the morning, you're
more likely to decide to have pizza and an entire cake for dinner. Your will
power and decision making is all used up.
Because the power to make decisions is a
depleting resource, and writing is basically an exercise in making decisions
over and over again, it is quite taxing mentally. Don't believe me? How often
have you sat down to write and stalled mid scene, because you don't know what
should happen next?
What happens next is a decision. Your heroine
walks into a building, is it a bar? A house? what does it look like? What is
the atmosphere? How do you want the readers to feel about the setting?
Threatened? Comfortable? Nostalgic? Now she's confronting the villain who beat
her mother into a coma. What does she say to him? How does she feel? How do you
want the readers to feel? Every scene comes with dozens of decisions, which can
be very mentally taxing.
(This is also why working with a co-author
can be a lot faster than writing alone. If you trust them, they are taking over
50% of the decisions, allowing you both to write faster.)
If you're not organised, much of your writing
time is going to be spent making decisions instead of writing. But what if the
decisions were made before you started writing?
Plan The
Goddamn Novel
I am a big believer in plotting over
pantsing. For those who don't know, plotting is when you plan out the novel,
usually in bullet form, before you begin writing. Pantsing is when you sit down
to write 'by the seat of your pants' with no idea what is going to happen.
Obviously this is a sliding scale and a lot people are somewhere between those
two extremes.
If you can only write pantsing, that's fine.
But if you can only write pansting and you still keep whining about your shitty
word count, I'm going to judge you. A lot.
At the very least, you should plot out the
scenes you want to write before you start writing. Be very explicit about the
details, you should just be able to write the scenes without making any
decisions during the process.
For example, don't say: "Kate breaks into the house and stops Pete from stabbing
Sarah."
Say:
"Kate enters the house by smashing the rear kitchen window and finds Pete
about to stab Sarah in the living room. Kate throws the hammer Sarah was using
to hang up picture frames and strikes Pete on the shoulder. When he turns
toward her, stepping away from Sarah, Kate shoots him in the chest."
Otherwise, you will reach this scene and have
to decide: how Kate gets in the house, where Sarah and Pete are in the house
and how Kate stops Pete. With proper planning before you write the scene, those
decisions are already made.
You may also want to note how the character
relationships are developing and what beats you want to hit. (Beats are what
you want the reader to feel when they read and correspond with genres. EG:
Scared/horror, love/romance, wonder/fantasy.)
In the case of Kate, Pete and Sarah, you
might want to note that Sarah's feelings toward Kate are not changed and maybe
the first thing she says when Kate cuts her free is: "Don't think this changes anything, you're still a fucking
cow."
The Best Use
Of Time
If you don't want to spent a week plotting
every scene of your novel start to finish, but you are sensible enough to plot
the scenes you want to write before you write them, I suggest doing the
plotting for next session at the end of your current session.
Say you want to write two scenes each writing
session, you've just finished two you planned yesterday, so plan the two scenes
you are going to write tomorrow as the last thing you do in any given writing
session.
Every line you wrote is a decision. They are
just smaller decisions than big plot points. And if you want to write
effectively, its best to start writing with as much decision power as possible.
If you start the session by planning the session, your mind will already feel
fatigued when you start writing.
Writing will be a lot more fun when its easy
and effortless, which will, in turn, make you more eager to write the next day,
and so on.
Remember you want to use your writing time to
WRITE not to THINK.
Two Hours
For The Price Of One!
There is a lot of learning involved in
writing. I think its sensible for every writer to read marketing books, writing
style books, listen to podcasts about writing and attending lectures run by
publishers. Maybe you're already exasperated at me, saying: "I don't have
time!"
Audiobooks.
Also youtube videos can be downloaded, as can
university lectures and many workshops. There are more podcasts on writing than
you could listen to in your lifetime. Why is this helpful? Whenever you are
cleaning or travelling, put on audio books/podcasts instead of music. You can
listen to them while shopping, while walking, while in any sort of line or
waiting room. Always have an audio book on you and whenever you are bored, put
it on.
Never waste time in the car in silence,
unless you really need that silence.
Don't let not knowing how limit you. It only
takes a few minutes to learn. Google: 'downloading youtube videos' and
'converting mp4s to mp3s with vlc' to get you started. As much as possible, I
do my learning while doing other things, time is too precious not to.
FOR THE LOVE
OF GOD, STOP BROWSING MEMES
We all waste time on a lot of bullshit. Don't
spend your day putting out fires when you could be putting in place systems to stop
fires before they start. Don't waste your time on shows and websites that do
nothing but mindlessly distract you. They're not making your life better,
they're just wasting the limited time you have in a day. Read books, but donate
the crappy ones to charity, don't finish them. If you're going to watch TV
shows, watch amazing ones, not re-runs or trash because 'it's on'.
If you need to relax, meditation will clear
the mind and refresh you 100x faster than browsing tumblr. Set yourself limits
on websites like facebook. Unfollow (you don't have to unfriend) people you don't care about so only people who are
interesting to you show up on your feed. Emails only need to be checked twice a
day--at most.
My phone is on silent all the time. Maybe you
can't do this, but it makes life significantly better if people sms you and you
can call them back at your leisure.
Cut out the shit that distracts you and takes
up mental real estate.
Cut out the crap you know isn't making your
life better. That priority list I had you write? Memes isn't on it. No one
writes: 'Spend more time browsing facebook' on their priority list.
Sometimes you might write 'connect with
people more' or 'develop a social media presence' and then these websites
become a tool to help you achieve targeted goals. Which is great, it's what
they were designed to do. Mindlessly scrolling isn't 'connecting' or
'developing an online presence'. Use websites with intent and purpose. Not just
to let your mind shut down.
Eagles don't catch flies.
Stay tuned
for the last post in this five part series:
Part 5: Alternatives Ways To Write: Other
people use crazy methods to write, now you can too.
And if you like me, buy and review my books,
because that will inspire other people to buy them too. Keep an eye out,
because every Monday one title will be free on my kindle page:
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