Mi Vida Loca · nonfiction · postaday · writing

My Thoughts on the Writing Process

JackieP

You notice my title says, ‘My thoughts’, not advice, as I have none. These are just some thoughts that I have swirling in my head as I finish my edits on A Case of Deceit.

When I first starting seriously writing The Canine Caper and getting it ready to publish I made the mistake of reading all the posts I could find on how to write. It really was a mistake, as it scared the crap out of me! It not only scared me, it made me doubt I could write, it made me question if I should write. It also confused the hell out of me.

There was/is so much conflicting advice out there by so-called “experts”. There was advice from authors, publishers, agents, all sorts of people! There was advice from people who only wrote books on how to write! They never wrote an actual novel, or memoir, or autobiography. Just books on how to write…books! See why I was so confused?

An expert by definition is;

ex·pert
ˈekˌspərt/
noun
  1. 1.
    a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area.
    “experts in child development”
    synonyms: specialist, authority, pundit; More
adjective
  1. 1.
    having or involving authoritative knowledge.
    “he had received expert academic advice”

 

One day in the future I hope to become an expert on writing books. Because I would have lots of books that I have actually written and sold, and not just because I want to give out advice. I want to be able to say…I’m an expert because I have done it so often and whatever I’m doing seems to be working! Right now I’m a novice. Complete newbie. Kind of.

I’ve written 714 posts on this blog alone. I had a blog before this and I have another one for my books. That might make me an expert on blog posts, but not necessarily writing. Just because you have done a lot of something doesn’t mean you’ve done it well, or right. Then that puts another question out there…what IS the right way to write a book? Or is there even a right and  wrong way? I mean, what’s right for one author may not be a suitable fit for another. Have I confused you yet?

I have my own way of writing books. Another author has their way…etc. I don’t think you will find two people who write books the same exact way. There are going to be differences. It just makes sense as no two people are exactly alike. But does that make one person wrong and the other right? No, of course not. They do what works for them, just as I do.

Now I understand that there are certain rules for grammar, spelling, sentence structure and so forth. That to me is totally different from writing a story. A story is made up of sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. There must be some structure guidelines for doing that or it would just be chaos and make no sense whatsoever. I get that part.

It’s the story itself that I’m talking about. The story as a whole. I know that a story should have a beginning, middle and an end. A book should have an interesting beginning, a middle that has some kind of conflict, an end that resolves that conflict to the readers satisfaction. I get that, as I was a reader long before I was a writer.

I have read numerous articles on how to write books that drum that into you. Ok, I get it. They also stress on HOW to do it. You should do A, B, C….the problem is I don’t always do it that way. Sometimes I do C, B, A instead. But, it works for me. These articles made me doubt that I should even be trying to write and that’s sad. There are so many good writers out there that truly have talent and read these ‘rules’ and get scared off. I’ve always been a rule breaker. I like to break rules. It makes life interesting. Some people give up before they even try because the rules scare them so much.

Why are there so many rules for writing!? Who makes up these rules? Where did they first show up? And why do some people think they are set in stone and find fault in others that don’t follow the rules?

My friend Maddie Cochere, after I wrote her and told her I was scared to write anymore because of all these rules I was reading about, told me to stop reading the articles! She was quite firm in that directive too. She was also right. So I stopped. She encouraged me to just keep writing. So I did. I finished two books and have a third in the works. Maddie is one smart woman. I stopped reading those articles and never read another one.

So, maybe I do have one piece of advice for anyone who wants to write a book….

Just sit your butt down and do it! 

And don’t read about all the rules….

 

cover play 5 canine caper

 

Deceit BookCover5_5x8_5_Cream_280 draft9

 

PS. Just a reminder that The Canine Caper is for sale on Amazon and A Case of Deceit is available for pre-order.

 

36 thoughts on “My Thoughts on the Writing Process”

      1. I know. And they are good dancers too. Mine does a wonderful grand échappé.

        They are a as intelligent as Border Collies, but in a smaller package.

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        1. I’ve never had one personally, but I sure would think of it now. I’ve done some research on them and yes, everyone agrees they are super smart. That’s just what I needed in my books, a small, smart dog.

          Liked by 1 person

  3. If I ever decide to write a book, I won’t even do research on how.
    I will be emailing you back soon! ❤

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  4. Just do it…exactly! Why would i listen to another writer, if only because it could effect my voice?

    Not that I plan to write a book, but you know what I mean 🙂

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    1. Oh, I know what you mean. I’ve thought of that, but mostly I thought, why does that person think they are more of an expert than anyone else that writes? Maybe it’s the cynic in me. 😉

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  6. You make me laugh, Jackie. Truer words were never spoken. Maddie is one heck of a gal. I liked her books too. Do you know I have more than 185 books on the subject of writing. Not to mention magazines like writers digest etc. Not one of them has helped me to sit my buns down and tap that keyboard. Not one. What ever you are doing, keep doing it. It works. You have a gift. Use it. :))

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    1. Well, no wonder you don’t write more! Get rid of those books!! LOL I stopped reading posts and articles that ‘help’. Really I did. So yeah, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, how I’m doing it. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hate to say this but you have a gift. It had to come out.. Me, I write but it’s different. I’m just having conversations with folks. 🙂 It might have helped had I read a few of them. I just collect them and expect osmosis to happen. 🙂

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  7. The Canine Caper looks great Jackie and is sitting happily on my kindle awaiting the next one. Congrats on getting it out there I hope it brings you the success you deserve.

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  8. Great advice Jackie! I did read a few of these books….clearly a mistake. Then I repeated that mistake when I started on my Africa memoirs. Now I don’t seem to get that advice out of my head,

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  11. LOL! I was rather firm in telling you to quit reading those books, wasn’t I? 🙂 If I had read advice/craft books before I started writing, I would have been overwhelmed and never started writing at all. I’m stubborn and like to march to my own drum — I write in past progressive, use adverbs if I want to, and I am on a first name basis with exclamation points. My lack of reading the experts hasn’t hurt me too much yet. I do, however, like picking up tidbits from author forums and blog posts. Sometimes I’ll read something and think – “Yeah – that’s something I can/should do.” Three years of tidbits has helped quite a bit.

    Keep writing, Jackie!! 🙂

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    1. Maddie! Picking up tidbits on how to write is different than trying to follow a formula. I don’t even follow recipes when I cook, I add, subtract, substitute. Just like in my writing. As long as whatever works for each writer, that’s what is important.
      I also agree that not reading advice/craft books hasn’t hurt you. I love your writing!

      I’ll keep writing….you do the same! 🙂

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