by T W Coombs
This is not about writing in general or I wouldn't be
writing this blog if it was, this instalment is the thoughts of a writer who
has two book projects jammed in his head but needs to finish the début novel to
make room for the other idea to develop.
This is about the five year project that has stalled and why and how my
idea on it may help you.
It is novel dilemma (haha, get it, novel) that a person who
spends much of his free time writing about something can’t write about
something when it involves the book project.
Is it Demons, small evil imps coming up from the world below to mess
with my mind? No, well, very unlikely
anyway, it is more than likely it is the skill of self procrastination. There is always a review or a blog that needs
writing, like this jumble of words, if I didn't write this I would have some
time to carry on with my book project, but then I would be down a blog. It is a dilemma, not of biblical proportions
as it is writing for people to read. It
does come down to time I shall admit, you need time and space to create and
make things up to write down. I have
been asked the classic question as a writer “where do your ideas come from?” my
reply was “if I knew that I would have gone there grabbed it all and finished
this bloody book”, it is not even writers block or anything, it is getting
myself to sit for an hour and just open up the file for the book and rather
than create new bits of an idea or Google funny things on the internet, the
best in procrastination, is to put more words on it.
My head has the entire book laid out from start to finish, I
only write certain notes and prompts so my mind remembers where I was going
with this narrative, if I don’t do this then I veer off to the unknown. This usually involves me deleting 500 words
because I am not sure where this is heading or it is just plainly rubbish. You can Google all the helps and tips on
writing you want but writing is personal, you need to want it and you need to
make the time. But if nothing else you
will need an idea. You don’t even need a
good idea, there are a lot of books out there that were created from an utter
rubbish idea or a copy of an idea but they are written well, so some do well
very and make their writer a true full time author.
Don’t, whatever you do, get caught up in the idea that I call the ‘Fifty Shade Effect’, if
you write a badly written book with a bad story doesn't mean you will sell
millions of copies and get a film deal and make a fortune, this was a one off
fluke, you get one fluke every generation.
So, back to my point, the battle of fighting off the
motivational demons that are stopping you from sitting down and writing your
book. I have found that you need to
overcome the mental battle which is very much like giving up smoking. I recently did this and now seven months down
the line am fine but there was times when I just wanted to start again but
there is that little bridge in your mind that is so humped it causes you to
falter and walk back away from it, but if you can just get to the top enough to
glimpse the other side you are now on the right path. This is the feeling in writing once you are
sat down with the screen showing your words I for one find it much easier to
just write. And write. And write. So
come on and just get your book written!
The devil is in the details, YouTube is the procrastinations
dream, so is Twitter and Instagram, this is why well known writers have been
known to lock themselves away in hotel rooms for a month or two. Of course the average writer has a day job so
this is not really an available option, plus other things get in the way. Those children you had? Remember them, apparently
they need attention, the other half does too, oh and Game of Thrones is on, the
list of distractions just goes on. Try and find that perfect time of day that
you can shut out the world for a couple of hours and bang out some words.
And if you are unsure where the story is going, don’t worry,
the best advice I have ever got was from an author I have never met but have
read many of her books, and her advice was just write it, the rest will fall
into place. So finish it, then go back
and feel in the blanks that you have no doubt left and story details you
started but forgot about. The first
draft is key to true book motivation. Once
you are over the hump and get that first draft written you will be so hyped up,
no one will see you for the next couple of months as you will re-writing your
good idea.
