Chris Dietzel's Blog - Posts Tagged "cliches"
Writing Clichés That Are 100% True
I was talking to someone the other day about my experiences being an author. While offering advice and telling them not to give up, I found myself using a variety of clichés that used to make me roll my eyes when I was first starting out. Looking back, those sayings have proven to be 100% true.
Cliché #1: True writing doesn’t start until the editing begins
It’s easy to put words to paper. Putting 75,000 words down is just as easy as 75 words, it just takes longer. But just because 300 pages are filled doesn’t mean they’re worth anything. Every writer I know thinks their first drafts are terrible. A lot of people, myself included, race through the first draft just so they can begin editing it. The process of refining words, ideas, and themes is the heart of the writing process. Taking paragraphs and turning them from rough stones to polished gems is the difference between a lot of words on a piece of paper and a great book.
Cliché #2: Writing the book is the easy part
Everyone hears about authors slaving away, miserable, pouring their hearts out into their work. And yet millions of people are able to do it. Every author I know will tell you that writing their book isn’t nearly as difficult as finding an audience for it. What will make your book stand out from the others? How can you convince readers to take a chance on it? This is the most difficult part of being a writer.
Cliché #3: The first book is only the beginning. Now on to the next one.
You’ve written your book, edited it, AND managed to get it into the hands of eager readers. So, you’re done, right? If your goal was to write one book, then yes. But otherwise, not so fast. Of the authors I’ve heard speak on the subject, all of them have said it wasn’t until their third book and roughly nine years of writing that they really had a noticeable following and were bearing the fruit of their success. There have been a few authors over the years who have written one book and were happy with the results. But much more common is the author who improves on their craft with each subsequent book, gains new fans with each story they publish, and after years of hard work and a couple novels to their name, can finally say they’ve achieved most of the goals they set out to accomplish.
Know of any other clichés about the writing process that have turned out to be true? If so, I’d love to hear them. Happy writing.
Cliché #1: True writing doesn’t start until the editing begins
It’s easy to put words to paper. Putting 75,000 words down is just as easy as 75 words, it just takes longer. But just because 300 pages are filled doesn’t mean they’re worth anything. Every writer I know thinks their first drafts are terrible. A lot of people, myself included, race through the first draft just so they can begin editing it. The process of refining words, ideas, and themes is the heart of the writing process. Taking paragraphs and turning them from rough stones to polished gems is the difference between a lot of words on a piece of paper and a great book.
Cliché #2: Writing the book is the easy part
Everyone hears about authors slaving away, miserable, pouring their hearts out into their work. And yet millions of people are able to do it. Every author I know will tell you that writing their book isn’t nearly as difficult as finding an audience for it. What will make your book stand out from the others? How can you convince readers to take a chance on it? This is the most difficult part of being a writer.
Cliché #3: The first book is only the beginning. Now on to the next one.
You’ve written your book, edited it, AND managed to get it into the hands of eager readers. So, you’re done, right? If your goal was to write one book, then yes. But otherwise, not so fast. Of the authors I’ve heard speak on the subject, all of them have said it wasn’t until their third book and roughly nine years of writing that they really had a noticeable following and were bearing the fruit of their success. There have been a few authors over the years who have written one book and were happy with the results. But much more common is the author who improves on their craft with each subsequent book, gains new fans with each story they publish, and after years of hard work and a couple novels to their name, can finally say they’ve achieved most of the goals they set out to accomplish.
Know of any other clichés about the writing process that have turned out to be true? If so, I’d love to hear them. Happy writing.
