Advice for novice writers
The most efficient career trajectory
Everyone should begin with short stories. It's what I would have started with if I could start over. Novels, though they're the form we're more familiar with as readers, are exponentially harder to create. There's more room to mess up. More stuff you don't know you don't know. A much higher time commitment. Higher likelihood of getting discouraged and giving up. And it's harder to get outside feedback on than a short story—a novel just takes too much time to read, and if it sucks (it will), that time will be terrible for the person giving feedback.
Take Stephen King as an example. He got his start with short stories, dozens of short stories that allowed him to hone his craft before his debut novel, Carrie. But Carrie was his fourth stab at the novel form—he’d needed three before that to become publishable, even after the foundation he’d built for himself with the focused writing of his short stories. So if the King himself is willing to put in his time before swinging for the novel, shouldn’t we do the same?
It’s really a win-win. Shorts can build up to your novels, or earn you publishing credits, and for many amazing writers they’re more than a means of practice—they’re nuanced pieces of art in and of themselves.
So, short stories. I know they’re not as sexy as novels, but they’re the best option.
Take Stephen King as an example. He got his start with short stories, dozens of short stories that allowed him to hone his craft before his debut novel, Carrie. But Carrie was his fourth stab at the novel form—he’d needed three before that to become publishable, even after the foundation he’d built for himself with the focused writing of his short stories. So if the King himself is willing to put in his time before swinging for the novel, shouldn’t we do the same?
It’s really a win-win. Shorts can build up to your novels, or earn you publishing credits, and for many amazing writers they’re more than a means of practice—they’re nuanced pieces of art in and of themselves.
So, short stories. I know they’re not as sexy as novels, but they’re the best option.
My writing habits
Now for the actual writing. I write in the mornings. I wake up, run, eat, shower, then write. I also write in the evenings after dinner. Those are the best times for me, mostly, I think, because I have a pretty clear mind then. Also, if I need to block out sound, or just tether myself to my computer with a cord, I'll throw on sound-cancelling headphones and play some noise. Gregorian chant for outlining. Thunderstorm for writing. Cosmic ambience or hip-hop instrumentals for revising.
I'm a big believer in the 20-mile march. And I like Hemingway's quote: “The important thing is to have good water in the well,” he told the Paris Review, “and it is better to take a regular amount out than to pump the well dry and wait for it to refill.” .
In terms of the nuts and bolts of the work, I set an aggressive daily word count goal, one that’s a little of a stretch to hit, so I’m forced to push myself, but one I know I can reach if I stay focused. It’ll take some feeling out to find the right number for you (mine’s 4,000 in four hours, but that could be low or high depending on how you produce), but after you do, that number is gospel. Hit your word count goal, or the world implodes. That’s the mindset.
Neil Gaiman has another good strategy, a lower pressure approach. He'll set aside time in the day and give himself two options. He'll either write or do nothing. Nothing doesn't mean checking social or clipping his nails or putting away dishes; it's literally nothing. And eventually, he says, even writing, which is not always the most enjoyable pastime, will be more interesting than doing nothing.
I'm a big believer in the 20-mile march. And I like Hemingway's quote: “The important thing is to have good water in the well,” he told the Paris Review, “and it is better to take a regular amount out than to pump the well dry and wait for it to refill.” .
In terms of the nuts and bolts of the work, I set an aggressive daily word count goal, one that’s a little of a stretch to hit, so I’m forced to push myself, but one I know I can reach if I stay focused. It’ll take some feeling out to find the right number for you (mine’s 4,000 in four hours, but that could be low or high depending on how you produce), but after you do, that number is gospel. Hit your word count goal, or the world implodes. That’s the mindset.
Neil Gaiman has another good strategy, a lower pressure approach. He'll set aside time in the day and give himself two options. He'll either write or do nothing. Nothing doesn't mean checking social or clipping his nails or putting away dishes; it's literally nothing. And eventually, he says, even writing, which is not always the most enjoyable pastime, will be more interesting than doing nothing.
My story-creation structure
OWLERY. That's my acronym (the L and R and Y are in flux, which is half the word, lol, but it fits perfectly with the brand I'm building for the writing instruction website I'm working on, so I'm keeping it). First Outline, then Write, then Light-revise, then Edit, then Real-revise, then Publish, but with a "Y" (flux, remember).
I have templates and general guidelines for all these. Everything is attached in the zip file below. But here's the gist: I brainstorm characters and conflict, then plot, I write with guidance from, but not marriage to, my outline. Then I wait a month or so, go back, and work on a second draft. Neil Gaiman says the purpose of the second draft is to make it look like you knew what you were doing. I agree. After you have a second draft, it's time to get outside feedback (never show anyone a first draft—you're wasting both your and their time). Outside feedback can come from editors, beta readers, or a critique group. I use all three. After you have feedback, you can take it to a "final" draft (after waiting another month or so). I say final, but these two steps, getting outside feedback and doing a final revision, can be repeated several times.
I'm a pretty heavy outliner, so I like to have most of the pieces on the board before I start writing. Maybe not everything 100% figured out, but I have a pretty clear arc in my head. But there are diminishing returns to brainstorming. The first 80% of your outline will come at a good clip (hopefully), but the last 20%, because you're not immersing yourself in the world and in the characters via the actual writing process, will take much longer—if it's possible at all.
I have templates and general guidelines for all these. Everything is attached in the zip file below. But here's the gist: I brainstorm characters and conflict, then plot, I write with guidance from, but not marriage to, my outline. Then I wait a month or so, go back, and work on a second draft. Neil Gaiman says the purpose of the second draft is to make it look like you knew what you were doing. I agree. After you have a second draft, it's time to get outside feedback (never show anyone a first draft—you're wasting both your and their time). Outside feedback can come from editors, beta readers, or a critique group. I use all three. After you have feedback, you can take it to a "final" draft (after waiting another month or so). I say final, but these two steps, getting outside feedback and doing a final revision, can be repeated several times.
I'm a pretty heavy outliner, so I like to have most of the pieces on the board before I start writing. Maybe not everything 100% figured out, but I have a pretty clear arc in my head. But there are diminishing returns to brainstorming. The first 80% of your outline will come at a good clip (hopefully), but the last 20%, because you're not immersing yourself in the world and in the characters via the actual writing process, will take much longer—if it's possible at all.
| owlery__short_story_.zip |
Exercises to get better
I did a survey online (FB, Goodreads, Reddit) asking 1,000 writers how they get better. I called the seven most common recommendations the seven drills. I then organized these drills into the apprenticeship framework from Robert Greene’s Mastery, and explained each drill in the context of deliberate practice, from Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool’s Peak, to create the Writer’s Practice Regimen. The Regimen is still in development, but here’s the structure, and here are the 7 Drills (on the seven drills page, there’s a sublink of craft book recommendations you might find helpful).