Are You Sure You Want to Write That Novel?

Computer turned on. Margins set and typeface ready. Ideas formed and outline sketched out. Or not. Now for that first downward stroke of the finger on a key…. But wait. Maybe we need a little more research. Or maybe we need check the blogs of Those Who Teach Creative Writing one more time. The story can wait, right?

No, it can’t. The best advice is to take no advice. From anyone. Just write. Write until the story is finished. Than look at what you’ve done and rewrite. Than do it again. When you’re finished – I won’t say happy with it, no one is every happy with the finished product – send it to your agent. Or, since we live in an age of wonders, you can self-publish. And you will have a novel.

You write because you must. Like the illustrious sports writer Red Smith said, writing isn’t a chore. ”Why, no,” he said. “You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”

That’s about right.