Writing Myth 3 – Get it Right First Time

I wish! Sometimes, it’s true, the words flow and the piece is pretty good after one draft. But this is not the norm, by any means.

More often, it’s the opposite and the words just won’t come. Tom Evans has written a useful book called “Blocks” that gives lots of ideas about how to deal with writer’s block and I strongly recommend that all authors and writers read it.

Let’s look at a few practical issues:

• Are you a good screener? Some people can screen out all background distractions and write wherever they find themselves. Others are put off by the slightest sound.  You’ll know which is true for you but if you are not a good screener, make it easy for yourself; eliminate as many distractions as possible. And if there are still unavoidable distractions such as street noises outside, the neighbours children playing next door etc., see whether music helps. I use classical or modern instrumental music as anything with lyrics may provide distraction  of their own.

• Set yourself a schedule and intermediate goals. Again, self-knowledge is very useful here: do you write best when you have a deadline to meet or when you have all of the time you need? Whichever it is, write daily and use this little trick I picked up a while ago: write for a set time each day rather than for a set number of words.

• Write then re-work. Editing as you go, except to correct obvious spelling mistakes, is an attractive but inefficient way to work. You can polish each phrase, each sentence only to discover that as you have developed your theme, a more logical structure has emerged. This will then require some cutting and pasting and re-working of work you have already reworked. What can then happen is, because of the time already invested in polishing the earlier work, we end up not bothering to do the re-structuring!

• What does the reader want to know? If you find yourself stuck, rather than asking yourself what you want to write, ask yourself what does the reader need to be able to read in order for you to meet your and their goals?

• Use Your Natural Style. You may often find that things flow better if you set yourself the aim of writing with the same style you would use if verbally explaining the subject to a good friend. I often get stuck if I try writing in any tone other than my natural one. This can be a challenge if your output has to conform to a particular house style.