This won’t be a long post. I’ve been struggling with benign positional vertigo (translation: I’m gonna be fine, but really dizzy), and even now, sitting upright for too long isn’t fun. But that brings us to a crucial topic.
At some point, your life as a writer will turn upside down. When it does, I want you to be ready.
When Life Turns Upside Down
The problems may come from health issues, from financial strain, from emotional stress, from relationship trouble, from any and every corner. It may come from the 500th rejection from an agent, from an unwelcome review or critique, or from plain old writer’s block.
Wherever it comes from, whatever turns your writing life upside down, I want you to be ready.
Step One: Believe Before Your Life Turns Upside Down
You are a writer.
You need to believe this. It doesn’t need to be “proven.” If you write at all, you’re a writer. When the days come that it’s hard, you’re still a writer—and you need to believe that.
An athlete is still an athlete on the days she’s sprained her wrist and cannot practice.
A singer is still a singer on days when his voice is shredded and he can’t speak a word.
And you are a writer even on those days when your life turns upside down and you can’t write.
What you do doesn’t determine who you are; who you are determines what you do.
—Neil Anderson
Those days when it all sucks and everything’s upside down (or in my case, nauseatingly dizzy), you’re still a writer. Believe that going in, and you’ll have an easier time believing it getting through.
Step Two: Mental Practice
Of course, just because you’re unable to physically write doesn’t mean you should sit back and do nothing. When your writing life turns upside down, this is the time to think.
Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.
—Barbara Kingsolver
What do your characters really want? What’s the theme of your story? Your antagonist thinks he’s the good guy, don’t forget; so what’s his rationale?
Is the humor you use appropriate to the topic? What about love? What or whom do your characters love?
If you were reading this book instead of writing it, what would you want to see? What resolution would you need to see by the end? (Hint: that’s the resolution you need to write.)
Non-fiction writers: what are you trying to prove or teach through your book? Why is your book necessary?
A gymnast thinks through their next routine, mentally preparing.
A singer studies notes, listens to music, and prepares for the time when they can sing again.
Don’t just think; read. Read while everything is blowing up. Yes, you have time—five minutes here, ten minutes there. Read something wonderful to refill your love of writing.
Think. Read. Don’t just ride it out. None of your time needs to be wasted.
Step Three: Write it Anyway
You had to know I was going there eventually.
One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly. I tell myself that I’m going to do my five or ten pages no matter what, and that I can always tear them up the following morning if I want. I’ll have lost nothing—writing and tearing up five pages would leave me no further behind than if I took the day off.
—Lawrence Block
Newsflash: when your writing life has turned upside down, you are going to write crap.
And that is allowed.
It won’t make you a worse writer. If you write when you know it’s crap and you just keep pushing through, you will become a better writer.
Don’t just take my word for it.
That means it’s okay to write 51 short stories that suck. Yes, for real.
It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.
—C. J. Cherryh
Oh, but Bradbury and Cherryh both wrote scifi/fantasy. What about non-fiction? (Spoiler alert: it still applies.)
Every professional writer knows this. From romance authors—
The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.
—Nora Roberts
—to very definitely Not Romance authors (like the one who wrote Slaughterhouse Five).
What you write when your life is upside-down probably won’t be good, but it will make you a better writer. It will make you a stronger writer. It will make you a smarter writer.
Prepare Before Upheaval
Practice these three things before life turns upside down for you: believe you’re a writer; get used to thinking about what you’re going to write (mental practice matters); and finally, when you have an inch of space, write it anyway—no matter how it turns out.
What do you do when your writing life turns upside down? Let me know in the comments.
PRACTICE
It’s time for practice. Take fifteen minutes and start practicing thinking about your book. If you don’t have a work in progress to think about, grab one of these story ideas to think about.
Answer questions about the characters, the theme, the plot, etc., and be sure to take notes as you go. When you’re done, share your writing in the comments, and remember to leave feedback for your fellow writers!
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