Sometimes I hate telling people that I’m a writer.
Not because I’m ashamed of it. Trust me, if there’s anything I’ve never been ashamed of, it’s writing. No, I hate telling people I'm a writer because I hate having to field the various bits of unnecessary advice I always seem to get.
“You know writing doesn’t pay well, right?”
“You should make a character like this!” (Proceeds to give a blatant description of themselves.)
“I have this idea I want you to write. If it gets famous, we can split the checks!” (You have no idea how many times I’ve gotten this.)
But my personal favorite (and the one that bypasses all my other nerves and tap dances on that very last one) has to be, “Really? That must be so easy.”
Usually, I tend to reply with something along the lines of, “Not as easy as you’d think.” And they always come back with, “Oh, come on. All you have to do is sit down and put words on paper.”
At this point, I just put on a nice, fake smile and change the subject. In my head, however... “Sit down and put words on paper… You think all I have to do is sit down and put words on paper and I miraculously make something that is presentable for the public to read… Sweetheart, you have no idea…”
If you haven’t figured out where I’m going with this by now, let me spell it out really quick: writing is not as easy as sitting down and putting words on paper. So I thought I’d give a quick peek into the basic writing process.
The Idea
Every piece of writing has to start with an idea. This article had to start with an idea. But the key to good writing is answering three questions about an idea: 1) Does it make sense? 2) Is it something you can keep writing on without getting bored? 3) Is it something a reader could keep reading without getting bored? Yeah, that idea where accidentally spilling your coffee on a lady in the mall somehow ends up with you having a massive pizza party with the entire Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team may sound good in your head, but how do you think that’s going to play out on paper?
The Outline
This is one part that can actually be optional. Some writers skip over the outline and just go straight into writing. I commend those people, because I am in the camp of writers that is unable to complete any form of writing without at least a basic outline. Think of an outline as your writing map; it maps out how you go from accidentally spilling your coffee on a lady in the mall to having a massive pizza party with the entire Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team and keeps you on track every step of the way.
The Writing
This is where most people think writing starts. This is where you actually sit down and put words on paper. And it’s still not as simple as that. Because you’re not just going to sit down and write and write and write until you reach the end. Oh no. You’re going to sit down, get a page or so down, check your email, check Facebook, follow a link to YouTube, spend hours going down a rabbit hole of videos and finally convince yourself to get back to writing. And by the time you get back to your writing, writers’ block has hit, you can’t think of anymore words to put on the paper, and you put it away and start the whole process over the next day.
The Editing
Somehow between all the Facebook surfing and the writers’ block, you finally get your project finished. You’re not done yet, though. Because that what you just finished? I promise you it’s not any winning any awards any time soon. No, that little darling that you just created is going to need to be looked over and revised. Maybe two or three times. Maybe by another person just to make sure you didn’t miss anything. And then maybe, just maybe, it will be a completed work of literary art ready to present to the public.
Now, this is just a bare bones version of the writing process. Some writers have more steps; some have steps within the steps. But no matter how long or complicated the process, any form of writing is a process at the end of the day.
The next time you come across a writer and start to utter the words, “Really? That must be so easy,” just know that there are levels to this writing thing. It’s not something everyone can do, but it’s something that the ones that can do it (and do it well) are immensely proud of.
