To get a book underway, you have to fully commit to it.
This is less obvious than it may seem. One of the hardest parts of starting a book is committing to an idea. Because … what if the story isn’t big enough? What if it isn’t compelling enough? What if there isn’t enough of an arc; what if it’s the wrong perspective; what if there’s a better way to tell the story? (Or should you be telling another story altogether?)
Committing to a story can feel almost as momentous as getting engaged. The questions you ask yourself aren’t so different. Willl I really be able to live with this person day after day, year after year? I really like X about him, but I can’t stand Y. Things I like about him in small doses might become intolerable over time. And how will he age?
In an interview in The New York Times Magazine, Philip Seymour Hoffman addressed this issue of committing to an idea. He was talking about how he starts from scratch every time he becomes a new character, but it struck me that the creative process he describes is similar to a writer’s. “Creating anything is hard. It’s a cliche thing to say, but every time you start a job, you just don’t know anything. I mean, I can break something down, but ultimately I don’t know anything when I start work on a new movie. You start stabbing out, and you make a mistake, and it’s not right, and then you try again and again. The key is you have to commit. And that’s hard because you have to find what it is you are committing to.”
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Thanks for this post. It came at just the right time. I’m about 8,000 words into my NANOWRIMO novel for 2009 and I’m stuck. I know where the characters are headed and figured the answer was to point them in that direction – throw them into situations and make them work it out. But, I’m thinking the problem is that I’m just not committed to them.
I have final edits to do on my first novel manuscript and that’s where my mind is. I want to get in there, clean it up, and have it ready to submit to agents at the first of the year. The new WIP is fighting to be first in my thoughts, and it’s losing.
Ginger B.
http://coppertopcollins.blogspot.com
http://www.gingerbcollins.com
I know exactly what you mean. You’ve got your other manuscript in your head. It can be so difficult when you’re at different stages with different projects. Good luck with all of it!
Christina, I love this! So true. Recently, I told a group that I write as a I choreographed when I was a dancer. I find that I am still “dancing on the page.” What I discovered is that the process is the same. As choreographer, I concerned myself with shape, design, space, story – abstract or not. As performer, I thought about drawing in the audience…nothing has changed for me as writer.
Where did you get that photo?!
I found it on the internet … isn’t it hilarious?
I enjoyed reading this post Christina, so thank you for the thoughts about commitment. My problem is that my head has three or four stories caroming around inside it, but I don’t know which one to commit to first to get started. They’re all equally as good as each other (to my mind, anyway, only time, peers and publishers will tell) but choosing which one to commit to paper has left me undecided, and thus inactive. Or am I just making excuses to myself for postponing the hard slog to come? How do you suggest I stop prevaricating and move onwards? I’ve toyed with the idea of developing them as short stories first, then developing the one I believe inspires me enough to commit to a full-length novel. Any thoughts about this? Your advice would be welcome!
I wrote this post because so many students (and others) have talked to me about exactly this issue. It’s so hard to know how and when to commit to an idea, particularly if you have many! I think it has to come down to following your gut. Which idea do you think about most? Which one keeps you up at night? Which one do you find yourself constantly adding to (even if only in your head)? Remember that you can always return to the other ideas — and that putting them aside now may give them a much-needed chance to marinate.
Thanks for the advice, Christina. Coincidentally, today I came across a website advertising writing software for budding novelists. Could this be a tool that helps a greenhorn get started (and overcome the pitiful excuses for not making a commitment). What’s your view about this kind of software? Can it help make the writing task less onerous by organising story ideas, plots and characters?
Hilarious photo, indeed!
[…] Only Commit: The hardest thing for most writers (and artists in general) is to commit to a project — to commit to the idea of that project and its execution. So that’s it then. I’m a commitment-phobe when it comes to my novel. Maybe there’s a support group for people like me. […]