A fellow artist recently mentioned that he likes complete silence when he’s writing. I’m one who needs music. I’ve tried the total-silence approach, but it makes my ears feel like they’re stuffed with cotton.
But my using music to write isn’t the right answer, or the best answer, or anything except my preference. I’ve read his work; it’s incredible. The write-in-silence process works for him.
The key secret that nobody tells you: There are NO right and wrong answers. There’s only what works for you, enabling you to get the job done.
This is why I’m wary of writing classes. They can be valuable tools, but remember that the instructor is not the ultimate authority on what works and what doesn’t. Years ago, I took a short story online class from a place which I won’t mention. The instructor used one approach. I used another. She told me I was wrong. Not good.
In the fiction world, there are plotters and there are pantsers, and some folks who are a bit of both.
You know the plotters when you see them. They’re the ones with color-coded post-it notes threaded throughout their synopsis and manuscript. They know what has to happen when, they have timelines, graphs, charts, colored dots for when each event occurs, etc. They’re efficient, organized and often produce many pages because they’ve already laid out where they want to go. They’re hard to miss.
By the same token, you know the pantsers. They scatter like mice when anyone mentions a “synopsis” or asks for plot detail on a manuscript in progress. They write a book so they can figure out how it ends. Where’s the fun in writing if you already know how it ends? They shun graphs and charts, and instead write by the seat of their pants–oftentimes surprising themselves with glee in the process.
I am a reformed pantser, still leaning toward the pantsing side but with enough plotter thrown in so I don’t write myself into a big circle. My writing instructor was a strict plotter. “Why are you letting your character do this?” she would ask. “You write to have something happen, and you create characters to do what you want so the action takes place.”
Huh? To my pantser mind, this made no sense. Don’t characters drive the story? Oh sure, I had a general idea about what I wanted to focus on, plot points to move the story forward, etc. But not let my character drive the story? Why would I write otherwise?
Don’t ever let anyone do this. Different approaches work for different people. I find that I’m a combination of plotter/pantser now, and it works well. As long as you know your characters (including their goals/motivations/conflicts) then use what approach works for you. You’re the one having to crank out pages, splash that paint on the canvas, or sketch that landscape.
Some people wear funky outfits while creating. Some prefer hard rock music, some prefer classical. Others prefer silence. It’s a matter of what creates the best environment for you to create, to call the muse.
Do what works for you–because getting that art created and into the world is all that counts.
:)
