The Beginning Writer: When You Don’t Know What to Do

I’m a beginning writer. Again. I have no idea what to do. After a career as an elementary school teacher and a thirty-year hiatus, I started writing again – a novel of all things. What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

Years ago, one of my first graders told me on the first day of school, “I can’t be here. I don’t know the big words.” That’s how I feel. Character arc? Plot points? Three-act structure? Logline?

In one of my procrastination sessions on Facebook, I ran across this quote on one of my favorite websites, Title Wave, a writers’ site from New Zealand: “Then I learned, I didn’t want or need just anyone to tell me how. I needed myself to tell me how. I needed to do the work. So, I did. Figuring it out as I went.” (From J. V. Manning’s blog Random Thoughts n’ Lotsa Coffee.)

So what do you do when you don’t know what you’re doing?

You can start with what you know best — your own life. At WAG’s August 2013 meeting, Patricia Charpentier said in regard to memoir writing, “The only wrong way to do it, is not to do it.” I agree, but I think that applies to all forms of writing. If you have the desire to write, you should write. Then you can begin to explore the how-to’s. You may end up rewriting everything you’ve written, but you can always fix what you have. You can’t fix a blank page. Her book, Eating an Elephant – Write Your Life One Bite at a Time has step-by-step instructions for getting started in memoir writing.

You can access the Internet. With the wealth of information out there, the only problem you might have is trying to figure out where to start. There are websites and articles galore. A good one is the Writers Digest site, which has editor and guest posts containing information on all aspects of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction writing. Access to the blogs is free. WD also has online tutorials that you can pay for by the tutorial or subscribe to for $25 per month for access to over 200 on a variety of topics. The Writers Digest University has university-style, fee-based, online courses that are intensive and provide feedback to your work.

I’m a bit of a fossil. I’m a book person. Rather than text on a screen, I want a real book where I can write in the margins, underline, dog-ear the corners, highlight, and revisit frequently. I’ve had the pleasure of reading many great ones, and a few not so good. Here are some of my favorites.

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

This book of basic knowledge and advice from Natalie Goldberg is a great starting place. Her essays about writing – the craft, the practice, the joy – can be read sequentially or in segments. With chapters like “Writing as Practice,” “The Power of Detail,” “Don’t Marry the Fly,” and “Fighting Tofu,” she includes a lot of instruction, philosophy, and advice as well as entertainment.

Crafting the Character Arc by Jennie Jarvis

Jennie Jarvis helps you develop rich characters that drive the story. She also reminds us of “The Dramatic Curve” – what it is and how to create it.

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

This book is not only the screenwriter’s best friend, it has great application to novel writing. It tells how to create a logline and summary, helpful for pitching finished work. It also explains the three-act structure with well-known movie examples throughout, giving the reader a better understanding of how plot works.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott is a novelist, non-fiction writer, and essayist. This could be a textbook for teaching writing, except that it’s entertaining and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, not textbook-like. With four sections (“Writing,” “The Writing Frame of Mind,” “Help Along the Way,” “Publication – and Other Reasons to Write”) it covers the spectrum from beginning to end.

You’ve Got a Book in You by Elizabeth Sims

Author and Writer’s Digest contributing editor Elizabeth Sims in her first chapter tells us writing a book is easy and fun. While many would argue that point, she says, “If it isn’t fun, make it fun.” She runs the gamut from “Your Writing Garret – your space and time,” all the way through to publishing.

If you’d like to hear it directly from some well-known, bestselling authors, check out some of these. Stephen King’s On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft documents his life as a writer as well as providing advice and instruction. Janet Evanovich and Ina Yalof co-wrote How I Write – Secrets of a Bestselling Author. If you ever wondered how Evanovich came up with the crazy predicaments for Stephanie Plum, Ranger, and Joe Morelli, she’ll tell you in this book. Tony Hillerman, former newspaperman and writer of the Jim Chee Navajo mysteries, had a conversation with Ernie Bulow, which became the book Talking Mysteries discussing the techniques used in crafting good mysteries.

I have barely skimmed the surface here. There are many articles, blogs, videos, CD’s, and books on how to get started in the writing life. But the most important thing is this: Stop reading about writing. Start writing!