“I’ve Always Thought About Being a Writer”

Whenever I tell people I’m a writer I generally get pretty similar reactions from people. Most people are supportive and think it’s pretty cool. But there is a not insignificant percentage who will tell me that they’ve always thought about writing. They all have similar stories, they always loved movies and books growing up, but then one day they had an idea.

Their eyes light up when they talk about how they wrote down the idea in a notebook years ago and how they occasionally get more ideas to add to the story. Over the years, they’ve added characters, plot twists, and sometimes even the beginnings of an actual story structure. I love hearing people tell me about this, because it mirrors the experience I go through when I come up with ideas. It feels like magic sometimes as all these nebulous ideas start to form in your mind, slowly taking shape over time.

The part that bums me out though is how often I hear them say they’ve never done anything with it – that they “wouldn’t know where to start.”

I don’t want to trivialize that thought. Not knowing where to start is a rough place to be. I get that.

We look at novels that authors produce and even having written a handful of those myself, I sometimes look at a project I’m working on and get overwhelmed with how much work it’ll take to take an idea I have and then write the 200+ pages of story needed to do it justice. That’s not nothing.

I had an experience once in college where I was in a class full of really talented writers. I had just come out of a creative writing class the semester before having gotten pretty dismal feedback from the professor about my writing, and I was feeling very insecure about my abilities. It was rough coming into class with pages to read and then having to compare them to the pages these other writers had written. Whatever they came up with was excellent, I was always so impressed. It usually took me multiple drafts to get to the quality of writing that they were doing naturally.

Further into the semester, I noticed that these brilliant writers weren’t getting very far with their stories. They’d write twenty pretty great pages, get feedback from the class, and then rewrite those same twenty pages again with that feedback in mind. They’d get more feedback, then repeat. It was honestly frustrating because I wanted to read what happened next!

Then one day I had an epiphany.

I was reminded of a time I spoke to an author I admired who told me that something like 90% of people who think about writing never really do anything about it. That’s a pretty big percentage. He further said that of that 10% who do try, 90% of them never finish whatever project they started.

It seems obvious now, but back then this was a life changing realization. The fact that I could separate myself from these other, much more talented writers, just by making sure I finished projects was a huge confidence boost. Who cares if my first draft wasn’t as impressive in my writing skill as these other guys, if I had a finished project and they didn’t? Besides, it’s always easier to make a second draft better than a first, right? This idea has served me well – that if I can outwork those who are more talented than me, then it doesn’t matter if they’re more talented than me or not – I’m the guy with the finished project.

Are you starting to see my point here?

You, the reader, who has a story idea and doesn’t know where to begin. You have more in common with every other writer out there than you think. But just as you’ll never build a brick wall without laying those first few bricks, you’ll never finish a writing project if you never start, and then never keep going. It doesn’t matter if what you write is brilliant or if it’s garbage, because at least you’re writing and working on it, and hopefully, finishing.

The magical thing about storytelling is that it comes pretty naturally to us (more on this idea later). So even if you’re reading this and thinking, “but I don’t know anything about story structure, or what makes a good character arc, or how to write dialogue.” You’ll learn as you go. You’ll find that your mind starts to note how others do it. You’ll start seeking out books and people and other resources for learning and getting back. So just remember that the very act of starting is a pretty powerful act. You’ll find that the more you slough through the mud, the more your mind will make the connections you need and the story will take shape. But none of it will ever take shape if you don’t ever start.

Sure, it took me years to learn story structure. Sure, it took me writing five-ish novels before I ever felt like any of them were any good. And sure, I still really struggle with starting sometimes. But desire carries with it great power – if only you follow through.

So this is my encouragement to all the writers out there who want to write. Just do it. Yes, in all likelihood, whatever you write first will be a hot pile of garbage (if it’s not, screw you). And yes, this will all be very difficult. But wouldn’t you rather start now and be writing the books or screenplays or poems that you envision in your mind in a decade? Or would you rather find yourself a decade from now still wishing you’d started? Do yourself a favor and google authors who didn’t start writing until their forties or fifties. While I firmly believe it is never too late to begin, regretting not beginning sooner will only get worse with time.

Besides, you just joined a writing newsletter where a really cool author who has learned a lot of stuff the hard way is going to talk about everything he’s learned. So maybe now is a good time to begin, right?

-Jacob