“Okay, so quick recap on the things that make a writer: We have one, Inspiration—the want of doing something creative, and two, Perspiration—the grueling execution of same—but the most important of the three, the one that separates the wannabes from the achievers, the unpublished from the published, the quitter from the finisher, is Desperation… You have to tell your story… You aren’t sure why. But create you must. So you push through…”
From Plot Twist by Harlan Coben.
It was easy to enjoy Harlan Coben’s conversational memoir as it flows effortlessly between stories from his childhood to insights about the craft of writing, from incidents that shaped Coban’s career, to the loss that shaped him as a human being. As a writer struggling for several years to complete my third novel, I was also taking notes. Here are some nuggets I particularly liked:
Momentum is a huge part of writing. If you leave your manuscript for too long, it will take a while to revive it.
Writing is one of the few activities where quantity will almost inevitably make quality. You get better at it.
Incremental ambition. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious, but rather than chasing over-the-top goals, try to make your next step achievable, celebrate it, and then look forward. Set incremental goals, unless unrealistic ones motivate you better. One size doesn’t fit all.
Writing for yourself isn’t writing—it’s therapy. Self-help is fine, but that’s not the writing I’m interested in exploring here. We want to move others, to entertain them.
Plot is character. Character is plot. Create character by action, not by exposition or predetermined arcs. The more one concentrates on plot—letting the characters confront obstacles, take action, suffer through events not of their own making, tackle hard choices —the more well drawn and multifaceted their characterization will be.
Characters cannot be beholden to the plot; they have to do what they will do and not be dumb or work against their own interests to service the plot.
Research may be an excuse for procrastination. And “if you research too extensively, you’ll be tempted to cram too much into your work…and both your writing and your productivity will suffer.”
Some myth busting I wish I have read earlier:
Characters don’t always go through arcs. They aren’t always likable. They should be real and engaging to readers, and have hopes and dreams and full-fledged life, even if we aren’t seeing it. They should be tested, but not necessarily undergo transformation. Sometimes, characters’ steadfastness while the world about them boils and churns makes the story more powerful.
Conflict is crucial on a macro level, because the hero is traveling the road to life and has to overcome obstacles. But too many times, writers force conflict. The characters should create conflict rather than the writer trying to manufacture it.
And for dessert, some musings about the human condition:
- Work expands so as to fill the available time for its completion.
- Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of your best.
- Ambition without action turns into anxiety.
