On the importance of Experimentation
I don't plot novels. That is not to say that plotting a novel is a bad thing or that it's the wrong way to write a book. Everyone has their own process and plotting has never been part of mine.
The way that my process works is pretty simple. It usually starts with a little grain of an idea (sometimes a what-if question; sometimes a picture that I see in my head) and then I sit down and begin writing. I let the story take me where it wants to go and I go along for the ride.
I think it's good to have a certain routine for how you do things, but you can't let that routine bleed into your writing or else you will simply write the same thing over and over again.
There is a lot of room in writing for experimentation. You can change the tense, you can change the point of view, you can write a book in third person or first person. All of these are just tricks of the trade though. It's the equivalent of a different camera angle in a movie. If a director made the same movie twice and changed the camera angles it wouldn't change the overall story. It would only shift your perspective slightly.
The real experimentation that keeps your writing fresh is by writing about subject matters and genres that scare you. Things you aren't quite sure if you can pull off or not.
As an example, after the new year I will begin work on a general fiction work that follows the turbulent life of a single person. It is partially based on the life of my father and partially based on the life of my wife's father. It is fiction, but many of the stories are things that I've heard about both of their lives.
This is an ambitious project, and likely a longer one than I have ever attempted. I've had this idea in my head for almost two years but I have put off writing it because I didn't believe that I possessed the narrative power to bring it to life in the way that it exists in my head.
But that kind of procrastination is the enemy of creativity. Basically, I figured that it was time to stop screwing around and finally test myself.
It's also important to be flexible with your process, as different types of stories may require different approaches.
I realized that this book was too complex to write in my normal way. The threads of the story could too easily get tangled and distorted. So I have decided that I will plot this novel.
It's an interesting process and easier than I would have imagined. Though that's probably because I've been writing the story in my head for two years.
The point is this: it's easy to become stuck in a rut. It's easy to find success with doing something a certain way and continuing to do it.
The hard part is challenging yourself, making yourself better.
Don't go for the easy route. It's safe, but the challenge is so much more rewarding.
The way that my process works is pretty simple. It usually starts with a little grain of an idea (sometimes a what-if question; sometimes a picture that I see in my head) and then I sit down and begin writing. I let the story take me where it wants to go and I go along for the ride.
I think it's good to have a certain routine for how you do things, but you can't let that routine bleed into your writing or else you will simply write the same thing over and over again.
There is a lot of room in writing for experimentation. You can change the tense, you can change the point of view, you can write a book in third person or first person. All of these are just tricks of the trade though. It's the equivalent of a different camera angle in a movie. If a director made the same movie twice and changed the camera angles it wouldn't change the overall story. It would only shift your perspective slightly.
The real experimentation that keeps your writing fresh is by writing about subject matters and genres that scare you. Things you aren't quite sure if you can pull off or not.
As an example, after the new year I will begin work on a general fiction work that follows the turbulent life of a single person. It is partially based on the life of my father and partially based on the life of my wife's father. It is fiction, but many of the stories are things that I've heard about both of their lives.
This is an ambitious project, and likely a longer one than I have ever attempted. I've had this idea in my head for almost two years but I have put off writing it because I didn't believe that I possessed the narrative power to bring it to life in the way that it exists in my head.
But that kind of procrastination is the enemy of creativity. Basically, I figured that it was time to stop screwing around and finally test myself.
It's also important to be flexible with your process, as different types of stories may require different approaches.
I realized that this book was too complex to write in my normal way. The threads of the story could too easily get tangled and distorted. So I have decided that I will plot this novel.
It's an interesting process and easier than I would have imagined. Though that's probably because I've been writing the story in my head for two years.
The point is this: it's easy to become stuck in a rut. It's easy to find success with doing something a certain way and continuing to do it.
The hard part is challenging yourself, making yourself better.
Don't go for the easy route. It's safe, but the challenge is so much more rewarding.
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