Sit Down and Write

 

As I mentioned at the end of my last post, the number one rule for getting started writing is the cliché, “Just do it.” Most good writers have started out as lousy ones. But what made them good was that they kept going—practicing, welcoming criticism, tossing out the bad and keeping the good. In other words, they work and work and work at improving.

Do I write garbage? Frequently. Is that an excuse to stop writing? No. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from writers who have learned to keep going.

·       “If you don’t allow yourself the possibility of writing something very, very bad, it would be hard to write something very good.” Steven Galloway

·       “It is better to write a bad first draft than to write no first draft at all.” Will Shetterly

·       “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” Les Brown

·       “If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow.” Louis L’ Amour

Once I’ve written something and tried to polish it a little, the next step is to expose it to other eyes. And I’m not talking about friends and family who will gush over it and tell me how wonderful my work is. The only helpful evaluations are the honest ones, Individual critique partners and critique groups help me hone my writing so that the garbage turns into treasure.

I’ve had an online critique partner for many years. We exchange chapters about three times a week, and she points out many errors I hadn’t noticed. Even better, she provides suggestions that had never crossed my mind.

I also belong to Highland Writers’ Group, a local critique group that used to meet in person three Saturdays a month but moved to Zoom when Covid-19 shut everything down. There are advantages and disadvantages to both venues, but the critiques are the same as always.

A serious writer welcomes all criticism even while separating the wheat from the chaff. Experience has taught me two things about responding to writing critiques. First, if I want to improve my craft, I can’t be sensitive. Second, if I want to improve my craft, I must be sensitive. The definition to avoid is “quick to take offense; touchy.” The one to embrace is “responsive to external conditions or stimulation.”¹ If I quickly take offense and discount the criticisms, I don’t learn anything. But if I think about what was said and respond offensively rather than defensively, my writing is better for it. Yes, I do reject some of the suggestions I receive, but not until I have considered them carefully.

And I don’t worry about being embarrassed by the writing I submit to my critique partner or group. I didn’t say I’m never embarrassed, but I bring it even if I am. If it were already perfect, there would be no reason to ask for a critique.

So sit down and write, and then expose your work to other eyes.

__________

¹These two definitions of “sensitive” come from the fourth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.