How I write

I was chatting earlier to friend and fellow writer, Dan Wagstaffe, about how we go about writing.  It transpires that we write in a completely different fashion.  I won't discuss Dan's particular method for writing.  That's personal to him.  But how do I write?

I see writing as a part of me.  I could not exist if I didn't have time to write.  I've taken to carrying a small notepad around with me all of the time.  If I'm sat in a coffee shop, a pub, waiting for a friend to arrive, I can take out a pen and jot stuff down.  Short stories, mainly, paragraphs snatched from my mind and onto paper in those brief moments before friends arrive.  Some of those short stories, they amount to nothing.  Some might end up getting finished.  Others, they might be developed into something bigger.  One such short story, I'm currently developing into my next major novel, One Eight.

Here's how I write. 

I don't meticulously plan the story.  I have an idea, a situation, at least one character, sometimes a handful.  But that idea, it's the beginning of a story.  I will usually know in what direction that story is headed, but invariably I don't have an ending.  Writing a story, a novel, 125,000 words, or even 60,000 words, that takes time.  There's plenty of time for an ending to materialize.  If I'm writing from a first-person perspective, then that ending will usually be decided by my lead character.  Though I have to confess that sometimes I may wait for many days or even weeks before my lead character comes up with the ending. 

I write.  That's all I do when it comes to writing a novel.  I just sit down and write.  Previously, my novels have been typed up on a PC, but my latest, One Eight, I'm writing in longhand and typing it up every few days (in case I get mugged again and lose my work).  Some days, I might write absolutely nothing (well, I have a part-time job that ensures I have a regular source of income - hey, a man's got to eat).  Other days, I might sit there full of good intentions, and end up writing nothing as I drink a bottle of wine and sing along to Radiohead or Coldplay.  And then there are days where it all comes out.  Not just a sentence, not just 100 words, not just a page, but word upon word of my latest book.  I write until I'm too tired.  I write until I can't write anymore.  On occasions, I've written from 3pm in the afternoon until 6am the following morning.  A handful of times, I've written for a couple of days solid.  But I write.  I don't set myself a target.  And to be honest, I don't set myself a deadline until I've finished the first draft and it's time to re-read and redraft what I've written.

Re-reading and redrafting.  Oh, the joys within.  It is during that initial reading that obvious errors come to light.  Sentences that don't make sense, sentences that aren't required because what they're saying is obvious to the reader, sentences that are repeating what has already been said.  Those are mercilessly slain.  Sentences that don't read right, they have to be rewritten.  There are lots of those in every first draft.  Red ink, words, sentences, whole paragraphs, scrawled through, changes suggested, big red question marks where a paragraph was written without much research and further research might be needed (Did Hitler like tea or coffee?  I don't know, so I'll put coffee and check it out later - no sense in spoiling the rhythm of writing by carrying out an hour's worth of research), underlining a character - do I need this person in my book?

Type up those amendments, print off, re-read.  Some sentences still don't make sense, some new ones aren't required, more necessary research uncovered - exactly what colour is bleomycin? 

Type up those amendments, print off, re-read.  Surely there won't be much red ink here.  But then there are the typos you've missed on the first couple of drafts.  And there are still sentences that aren't required, sentences that could, seeing as how you've read them twice before, be written in a better fashion.  And that character ... do I really need her?  If I don't, I'm going to have to change a big chunk of the book.  And the ending ...  It doesn't have enough of an impact.  More red ink there than anywhere else.

Type up those amendments, print off, re-read.  This must surely be the last draft.  I've read this book enough times already.  But now it seems to flow.  It is whole.  Each sentence leads into the next to create perfect paragraphs, or even magical ones, and each one leads into the next paragraph to create great chapters.  This is a whole book, written by one person, in the same voice.  And yet still there is red ink ...

Type up those amendments, print off, re-read.  And I'm getting there, it's almost complete.  Just a few final tweaks ...

That's how I write.  Throw those words down, let them work for me, and then craft and perfect it through re-reads and redrafts.  It sounds insane, I know, but then generally I'm writing about people who are less than perfect, and if I'm writing a book about them, from their perspective, then the book should be less than perfect.

But whatever the method a writer uses to complete a book, he or she should remember that writing is supposed to be fun.  Write what you want to read, not what other people want to read.  That way, you will care about what you're writing.  And always, in your mind, you should have faith in what you're writing.  You are the best writer out there.  Who's to say you're not?  Enjoyment of a book, a writing style, it's all subjective.  The stuff I write, you might not like.  The stuff I read, you might not like.  And vice versa.  But Grisham isn't a better writer than me.  Nor is Martina Cole.  Is Chuck Palahniuk better than me?  No.  We are all writers, we all have our style and our voice, and we all write books.  Are those three richer than me?  Of course they are, but that doesn't make them better.  It just means their marketing team is better than mine.

But of course, that is a whole different topic to write about ...

If you're a writer, believe in yourself.  Even if only two people are reading a copy of your book at any one time, that's still two people who are reading something you've created.  So put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, and write.