How to Write a Book (II)
Part Two
A continuation of my previous post on How To Write A Book:
Want One Weird Trick to writing a best selling novel? Well, look no further, friend! All your answers are right here… Ha ha, just kidding. I’m not sure anyone who writes novels really “knows” how to write a good one, let alone a “best seller.” Even the professionals will tell you writing novels is like grappling with an unseen foe in the fog.
The scary truth is that there are no magic beans to writing (except maybe coffee). Every book is a new and different mountain, and you have to start at the bottom every time. However, now that I have climbed six and a half of them (yes, only one published so far, but that’s not stopping me!), here is a list of things I’ve learned along the way:
No. 6 - The Third Act Scaries
Now that I’ve done it a few times, I have learned to accept that part of my process is freaking out at the start of the third act. This is where I typically doubt and flail and worry that I’ve written a Boring Book (see my post about “quiet” books).
The third act is when all your ideas have to make a meaningful point. It’s when the Easter eggs you planted have to pay off, and lead you to The End. You can spend two whole acts writing fun scenes and great dialogue and going on side-quests, but by the third act, it all has to mean something.
So, how do I deal with it? I stop.
I go back to the start, and re-read the entire thing, making notes about what has to pay off, or removing all the clever ideas that I know won’t ever pay off. Usually by the time I read through to the third act, not only am I in love with the book again, and know exactly what I need to do to finish the story in a satisfying way, but I’ve also got loads of great ideas on how to knit the threads together, which metaphors to lean into, what ideas are going to have better impact, and which ones to ditch.
My partner will recognize this as the point where I say, “You know, I think this might actually be a good book.” (Him: eye roll. He has heard this statement many times.)
Lesson: you’ll probably lose your hope / interest / faith / gumption / zeal for your project at some point, maybe at the start of the third act, when things Get Real. Just breathe. Go back to the start, and remind yourself why you liked this project in the first place. Also, tidy up your plot bunnies!
No. 7 - The Bits File
What do you do with all the things you know won’t ever pay off in your book? You stick ‘em in a Bits File.
I used to think words were precious. I used to worry that if I took out a good line or clever idea, I’d never write another one like it. Maybe that’s the retired poet in me, toiling away at each precious line, trying to make diamonds. But something I know very well from my other career, as a graphic artist, is that if something isn’t working, you throw it out and start fresh.
After 25 years as a graphic designer, I know that nothing I create in that medium is precious, and new, often better, ideas will always come—especially if you dump the ones that aren’t working, or that you end up tinkering with endlessly to try to make work.
“Blowing shit up” and starting again is one of my favourite and most satisfying acts as a graphic artist. It just took me a while (ten years?) to learn that writing is exactly the same. You’ve likely heard of “Killing your darlings”—this is exactly what that means, and is often the only clear way towards great writing (slow poetry notwithstanding).
Keep everything! But not all of it in your story.
As a writer (or really, as an artist in general), you have to learn to see when you’re standing in your own way, and also understand that sometimes all your great lines / words / ideas / images are actually obfuscating your point. As much as you love that beautiful line, it might actually make your book harder to read, and that’s when readers start to do the dreaded skim (admittedly, I am still working on avoiding this, but I am getting better at it!).
With this in mind, and also being a magpie, I have a “Bits” folder inside every project where I dump all my unnecessary words / lines / chapters / scenes / ideas / plot lines. Sometimes I go back and put those “bits” in elsewhere, but more often than not, they remain in their side folder as good ideas that just weren’t right for the story.
Again, Scrivener makes this super easy, and it feels less guillotine-y when I can still see those “good lines” sitting there, waiting for the right project—even if they never do get used.
Lesson: Save your darlings in a “Bits” file if you must, but chances are your story is better without them.
Blowing things up a little, and clearing away cobwebby ideas that are tangling up your plot and your brain, often leads to better things.
In my next post, maybe I’ll talk about where good writing really comes from (hint: it’s all in the editing).
But there is one thing all great writers do, and this is honestly the ONLY rule you should really stick to: sit down and write. It’s the only way, even if you’re only writing fifty words a day, or a hundred a week. Your process will be uniquely yours, and that’s why only you can write the novel you want to write—but the only way to write it, is to sit down and write it.
Magic beans photo by Arshad Sutar
In the mean time, wanna buy me a coffee? Scan my Tip Jar QR Code here. I promise you every penny feeds a writing / caffeine habit that will never die!