Day 4: How I Write, How Should I Write?

Sometimes when I'm writing or thinking about writing, I start wondering if I'm writing the right way. Like, should I be paying more attention to the way I write sentences? Should I put more thought into who is saying what, when? How much of my focus should be on setting or description or who's hands are where?

I guess what I'm mostly wondering is...How much is okay to save for revisions?

When I'm writing a first draft, I tend not to think about how pretty my words are. I don't usually ask myself if my sentences make complete sense. Goodness knows, I have no idea what is going on in the corner of the room or whether my characters care. Mostly what I'm doing is writing dialogue between my characters, as I try to figure out what it is that they like or what sets them off. I'm writing interior monologue to figure out what it is that my MC is really thinking, what she really wants, what she doesn't want.

But sentence-wise? I'm not even thinking on that level. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I honestly don't know.

Every bit of advice I've ever read about writing is Just Write. Do it. Sit down, pick up a pen or a pencil or a computer and just write. Put one word down, then another, then another. Don't delete them. Don't try to fix them now. Just write them down.

But then I find myself thinking, is that really the best way to write a book? Because when I'm done, what will I be left with? 75,000 words. But will they be good words? Will they be words I want to keep? How will I even know I want to keep them? Will my chapters even be chapters? Will my scenes even look like scenes? I know everyone says that you can fix this sort of thing in revisions, but shouldn't I be thinking about it now, while I'm writing the scenes, and try to make those scenes a little bit better now, so that the revisions won't be as bad? Or will that be like allowing my inner editor out into the wild where she can create all that awful doubt and fear and keep me from writing altogether?

Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the most important thing really is to just keep writing. And figure out the chapter, scene, sentence, word thing out later. Who knows.

But for now, that's the way I write and it's the way I know how to write, so I suppose I'll keep doing it and hope it gets me to the end.


Words written: 961
Total words written: 5,278
Chapter written: Working on Chapter 2