Perseverance: Encouragement for People Who Ask “How” to Write

As someone with the “gift” of gab, telling stories has never been a struggle for me. Fantasies fight for prominence in my dreams. Ideas wake me from sleep in the dead of night, demand my attention while I drive through town on errands, interrupt my words when I am in conversation with friends.

But the act of writing is a different story.

A cup of coffee triggers a dialogue. An unusual dog standing in the intersection. Glossy fruit in the grocery store. The grandmotherly woman on the corner who, when you roll down your window, asks for the time while objecting sweetly to your kind offer of cash. I wonder how to relay these flashes of inspiration in a meaningful way. Will readers care?

Despite my distracted nature, I’ve managed to publish four books, determined that my words reach beyond my notes, binders, and laptop. I assure you—if I, in my ADHD-rattled habits of obsessing and worrying, manage to write and publish a book—so can you.

All it takes is perseverance.

Like many of my friends, for most of my writing career, I worked full time. I have a husband, a teenaged son, a menagerie of pets, a needy yard and household to maintain. Errands and shopping and laundry and dishes fight for my time. I’m going to tell you a secret about writing: it doesn’t have to be completed in one go. You don’t have to write a specific number of pages per day. There are no rules!

You can begin this afternoon. Write as much as you can in whatever amount of time you find.

Just one sentence. A paragraph. And you’ve started! How easy was that? You are under no deadline. There is no one judging how quickly or how well you’ve written. You simply must get the words on paper (or on your notes or your laptop). Just take whatever time you can grab to get the words out.

Your words can and will be messy and awkward. They will jolt rather than flow, buck rather than roll. You will realize over time: this is the joyful part—the act of writing. Just getting it out of your mind and down on paper. As you write, in whatever time you have, you will discover the sheer pleasure of words flowing onto paper. Writing is a wonderful power. Take your time. Write as much and as often as you can.

If you have a plan or an outline, good for you! Not everyone does. And even if you do, nothing is written in stone. Improvise if the words aren’t cooperating. Use a thesaurus. Try changing your voice or the style (from narration to poem, for instance). Often, I hear writers speak in astonishment of their story taking on a life of its own. This is where you must trust your process. Read with a discerning, but nonjudgmental, eye. And…

Let Things Evolve

Do your words tell a story or define an issue? Who is your intended audience? How will they connect to or be touched by what you have written? Put the pages away for a week or two. Or even a month. When you pull it out later, does your writing feel different? Does the story have the same effect on you now as it did when you wrote it? Will it affect other readers in the way you intended?

You wrote something! You are ready for the next step:

The Review

You will sometimes read the words you’ve written and say to yourself, “Well, yuck! What the heck was I thinking?” I’m giving you permission right now not to judge yourself harshly. You have to throw a lot of words at the page and see what sticks. Keep reading—don’t get too bogged down—see whether the words have merit. Can they be rearranged? Can you add or subtract to the emerging theme? During the review, your writing takes a more definite form.

Do you write for a plan or purpose, or to give voice to an idea? Some people recommend: skim it, then trim it. Show don’t tell. Are your details adding dimension to the story? Do you use the five senses? Do your characters and locations feel real? Is there flow? Clarify without exhausting your readers. Tighten up your paragraphs without losing your intention.

Don’t worry if it feels incomplete, because when you feel you have reviewed thoroughly you have another important step to take:

Editing Your Writing

Editing is a difficult hill to climb for most writers.

This is when you brace yourself with a cup of strong coffee, run that spell and grammar check with an exacting eye (grammar checks are notoriously incorrect). Straighten out your their, there, they’re and lay versus lie, dot your t’s, and cross your eyes. Editing is fact checking. Editing involves reading for structure and composition, cutting out anything that doesn’t contribute—which will feel cruel until you realize your story is sleeker, stronger, and far better. Don’t skimp on editing. Like writing and reviewing, editing takes time. When you have achieved the summit, you will be rewarded with the view of a much more polished and professional piece of writing.

You can take a deep breath, you’ve accomplished something! I agree—finishing the editing process is a great feeling. But you need to…

Get Your Writing in Front of Other People

You need beta readers. Beta readers can be found among friends and family, online, and in writers’ groups. These are people who may not necessarily read your style of writing, but they are people you can trust to be honest about the content and structure of your story. They will tell you when something doesn’t read well or “feel right” in your writing. Your beta readers can reveal weaknesses in your writing that need attention. Their input can make your words stronger and more effective. Or you can ignore them and carry on.

It is your project; it is entirely up to you!

As you progress in writing, you will feel more comfortable submitting your work to publishers, and that is another article entirely!