Writing: It’s Not Easy
At the start of the summer, I’m invariably asked each year what I’m doing for the summer. The biggest item on my list of things to do is to either rewrite a book, work on a new one, or both. And when I respond to somebody that that’s what I intend to do, they nearly always reply, “Well, that sounds like fun!”
At which point, it’s always obvious to me that they’ve never written a book…or at least one that others would pay to read.
There’s nothing fun about writing. The brainstorming, which should be every writer’s first step in devising a story, always seems to lead to gaping plot holes. Explaining those plot holes or making them work is the real challenge in brainstorming a plot. You also have to know your characters and create people that you know as well as you know yourself–and care about them just as much. Nobody can lose themself in a story when they don’t care about the characters.
Then there’s the writing of the actual rough draft. There’s just no way around it: I don’t care how fast you type, this is a really time-consuming part of the writing process. I can hammer out about four pages per hour and have been known to finish between twenty and thirty pages in a day when I’m on a tear. But it’s exhausting, both mentally and–yes–even physically.
The next part is the part that separates the men from the boys. In my writing workshop at NYU, Ann Hood once said that anybody can write a book; few people can actually rewrite. And that’s the most important step in the process. Taking criticism from beta readers (sometimes harsh criticism), not letting it bother you too much, and using it in a productive fashion to make your manuscript better.
I recently had a discussion with a fellow author about my book, The Dewey Deception. I had mentioned to her that the book had been rewritten about fifteen times before being shopped to the publishers. Her eyes actually opened wider; she couldn’t believe I had done that many revisions. But that seems to be the magic number with me: no manuscript leaves my house until it’s gone through approximately fifteen changes. And as soon as I think it’s done, it’s not. An agent or editor needs to add their two cents, and the revision process begins anew.
Of course, every time a book actually goes into print, I want to stop the presses because I can think of something I could have done better. But that’s the curse of any writer that cares about his work!
Which brings me back to the start of this summer, which is fitting because we’re near the end of the summer. When I was asked what I would be doing this summer, I had every intention of finishing up the rewrites on one book and completing the rough draft of another. I really did. But you know what? I didn’t do either.
Oh, I restored a pinball machine to its former glory. Finished up a lot of work around the house that went uncompleted during the previous ten months. Even managed to squeeze in a short vacation or two. But I never quite got around to polishing up those two manuscripts. Do you know why?
Because it was summer. And summer is lazy season. And writing is hard.
But the new school year’s starting, and I’m going to be writing with a vengeance now, I promise.
Maybe.
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