five simple ways to Just Keep Writing

I’m reluctant to pass myself off as some kind of authority on writing, because I still have a lot to learn, but from time to time I’m asked a question that I can answer with some degree of confidence.

That happened earlier today, and (as you’ll see at the end of this post) I thought it may be worth sharing here.

On Aug 28, 2008, at 12:52 PM, [redacted] wrote:

When you’re writing something that’s not for a blog, like a book or script, something that has to remain a secret until it’s published, do you just go bonkers?

Yes. Yes I do. It’s really hard, because as a blogger you’re used to instant feedback to keep you going, but when you’re working on something that can’t be shared or released the same way blog posts are, you can lose your way and lose your confidence.

I’ve found a couple ways to help overcome this:

1. Blog less. It’s incredibly hard to blog and write a book at the same time, because you’re using different muscles. Think of it like trying to run the 100 meter dash and do a marathon at the same time.

2. Make a deadline for yourself, then work backwards to have milestones every day or week, whichever works better for you.

3. Give yourself little rewards when you make a big milestone (5K words, 10K words, 20K words, first draft completed, etc.)

4. Don’t show your work to anyone until the first draft is done. Don’t even excerpt little bits and put them on your blog. I put about 30 words from House of Cards online, and I lost all of my momentum as a result. I’m not sure why this happens, but it really sucks when it does.

5. Find an editor who you trust to work with you. Good editors do more than just edit the draft you give them, and I know this because I have a great editor.

You know, this may be useful to other people. I’m going to anonymize the line I quoted from you, and post this on my blog. I’m sure readers will have other bits of advice and experience to share in comments.

-Wil

This isn’t anything more than common sense, I guess, and it’s not even that original (the post I linked to day before yesterday about blogging vs. writing a book covers most of this in much greater detail than I did) but I hope it’s helpful anyway.

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45 thoughts on “five simple ways to Just Keep Writing”

  3. #4 is so hard to do. Ye gods, it’s awful to have to keep it all quiet when you’re bursting to talk about the thing that has you totally obsessed because you’re so excited.
    Also applicable: there’s an awesome word in German: sitzarbeit. It can mean just sedentary work, but I always took it to mean ‘the effort it takes to keep your butt sitting in the chair and working until you’re done.’ Sitzarbeit is infinitely harder than any actual mechanical part of a creative craft, I think.

  4. All very true, but none more than #5. EVERYONE needs an editor, and good ones (like good agents) are worth their weight in gold.
    Julian Murdoch
    rabbitatsignrabbitcavedotcom

  5. Brent, Wil blogs for free. He gets paid for his other writing. If the blogging is getting in the way of his writing for pay, the blogging HAS to go.

  7. Don’t worry about “passing yourself off as some kind of authority”… somebody somewhere is going to benefit from your experience (whatever level it’s at), and will probably be more able to relate because you’re closer to the same level of experience they are, rather than some great Authority Dispensing Wisdom From On High.
    Plus, one of the best ways to learn about something is to teach it! So keep on giving out these tips as you learn them. Everyone will benefit.
    And if anyone asks you why you think you’re such a know-it-all, just ask them how many books they’ve published. I’m betting it’s 3 less than you!

  10. Re #4: this is actually explained in Dorothea Brande’s “Becoming a Writer.” She says the momentum comes from the desire to tell your story to someone. Once you’ve told someone — even just told them ABOUT your story — that desire is satisfied. Hence, no more motivation.
    It’s a great book. Written long before we knew anything about right brain/left brain, the book explains exactly why you have to keep “generating new content” clearly separated from “editing/criticizing content.”

  11. I had a brain cramp reading that because a friend of mine recently wrote a book called _House of Cards_ and she’s occasionally done similar posts about how she keeps focused and the things she catches herself doing when she’s having motivational problems. I started to think “er.. did he ask her to write this?” and well. Small world. 🙂

  12. That is all excellent advice; thanks for sharing it. You are completely correct in saying that trying to do both at once is exhausting. That’s happened to me when I’m under a deadline, too, and one or the other always suffers.

  14. Heh heh, my < /just kidding> disappeared. Probably because I left out the space before the / and now people don’t know what I am talking about. Sorry for so many posts. I wish I could go back and edit my comments.

  16. Everybody’s process is different, but for myself I have to disagree with #4.
    I’ve written three novels (only one published, alas), and for each of them I blogged them as I wrote them. I found it incredibly helpful to get feedback from friends and family while the work was in progress, even though most of the time that feedback only consisted of “so when are you going to post the next installment?”
    Knowing that someone–anyone–besides me cared where the story was going next was a huge boost to my motivation.

  18. Everyone’s got their rhythms and strides when it comes to writing. It doesn’t mean every percent of your writing energy must go to the book. That’s like saying race car drivers should take the bus everywhere, including the track, to “save” their driving techniques for when it “counts.”
    Journalists for years have written books while still doing their articles for newspapers and magazines. It’s a matter of just switching hats. Just put yer car in N for novel instead of B for blog and go go go… 🙂

  19. #4 Yes, absolutely.
    I also find that I write more diligently when my husband is on business trips out of the country…I think it distracts me from wanting to be there as well.
    (I am NOT suggesting you send Anne away.:) )

  20. Isn’t the key to keep writing, not to suffer from insanity, but learning how to have fun with the affliction, ex. Stephen King, then you’ll never run out of imaginary characters. Of course, it could turn out like George Lucas and that damn Jahr Jahr Binks, he made us suffer from his insanity. Either way, you’ll get to enjoy it, so embrace the force of the twisted side and keep writing.
    (translation in German) German words are like crazy foder for the brainstem.
    Nicht ist die Taste, zum zu schreiben zu halten, um zu leiden nicht unter Geisteskrankheit, aber dem Lernen, wie man Spaß mit ihr hat, ex. Stephen König, dann laufen Sie nie aus eingebildeten Zeichen heraus. Selbstverständlich

  21. Isn’t the key to keep writing, not to suffer from insanity, but learning how to have fun with the affliction, ex. Stephen King, then you’ll never run out of imaginary characters. Of course, it could turn out like George Lucas and that damn Jahr Jahr Binks, he made us suffer from his insanity. Either way, you’ll get to enjoy it, so embrace the force of the twisted side and keep writing.
    (translation in German) German words are like crazy foder for the brainstem.
    Nicht ist die Taste, zum zu schreiben zu halten, um zu leiden nicht unter Geisteskrankheit, aber dem Lernen, wie man Spaß mit ihr hat, ex. Stephen König, dann laufen Sie nie aus eingebildeten Zeichen heraus. Selbstverständlich

  23. You rock sir. Been writing for years, yet until recently I have done NOTHING with it. Thanks to you and your blogging, and a push from my wife. I am finally putting my thoughts and dreams out there. Thank you sir.

  24. Not meaning to completely derail this post or anything, but happy birthday (belated) to WilWheaton.net. I missed it on the 23rd. What….seven years???
    Will wwdn ever be back, or are we forever in exile?
    PS I’m really proud of you, Wil. You’ve written another book! Awesome!

  25. I’ll listen to your advice any day, Wil. I have a list of good things I’ve learned from wilw. But #4 is gonna kick my ass.

  26. Off topic to post, but is this blog ever going to not say “in exile?” This is now the permanent home, despite it not being WWdN by URL, right?

  27. Some good advice there Wil, I had started a story but never managed to get any further because of having to do other things, just like yorself, Just wondering though, what kind of “treats” did u reward yourself with when you got to your markers? lol
    take care From Big Jim

  29. Thanks you sir; I do believe this will help.
    Wil, do you (or anyone else here) find writing to be, on some level, terrifying?
    I find two of my main problems are “what” and “when”:
    “Just write” sounds to me like “just say”–just say what? “this is a well designed pen, I wish those people in line here at Starbuck’s would keep their voices down, let’s see, I’ll need to remember dishwashing detergent at the store later”?
    So at what point have we found the right “what”? How high is the bar? I think this is one reason #4 is so important: if we wait for an idea and opening paragraph that we absolutely know will hook anyone who might see it, we won’t get started.
    Which brings me to “when”: announcing “it’s writing time, honey! That’s what I’ll be doing instead of having breakfast with you!” feels like a promise–a tough promise to make until you know you have a killer idea, an awesome first sentence,enough sleep to ensure that you won’t zone out for 45 minutes, etc., etc.. I imagine Mrs. Torrence seeing all those pages of “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” (I’m thinking she’d feel a bit betrayed even without the mortal fear) I guess the only way to get past this barrier is to close that door and tell yourself that it’s time to write…what? Crap. It’s time to write what will almost certainly be crap, because we’ll need to strap on the hip-boots and wade through it to reach the good stuff.
    Well.
    Ahem.
    I’m…er…
    I’m…*gulp*
    I’m going to write today! After years of excuses! I’m going to set a deadline (#2), and think about some milestones (#3), and I’m going to write, even though I could fall back on “I have to back for the trip”! I’m going to put precious time into writing crap. Call it practice or call it delusion, I’m going to do it. And you know what? I’m not even going to tell you the title (#4)!

  31. Wil,
    It’s interesting that I stumbled across your post today. I was getting started to organize a book I was supposed to have outlined in June, and a great deal of content already done.
    What is really funny about this is that 7 years ago, RMS said to me, “Just Keep writing”. This outline and rough draft I’m working on tonight was something that I told him I would submit to him for feedback 2 months ago. I decided to just get it together tonight.
    These are good guidelines. I like number 4.
    Thanks.

  33. I just want to let you know that I am the redhead sitting at the OneUps booth who offered you some chocolate chip cookies. I retardedly spaced/freaked out when Mustin introduced me to you for the photo, but I think that happens to the best of us at the most inconvenient times.
    Of course I realize far after the fact what I wanted to say to you. I love your blogs with writing tips. I’m looking to be a published author myself someday, and all your tips have been so helpful, especially the tips in this particular post.
    I know you were crazily busy at PAX – I obviously saw the ginormous line – and I didn’t want to be much of a bother with my ramblings after you were done chatting with what seemed like thousands of people. It was nice to see you and get a photo. 🙂
    Thanks for being super awesome. ^______^

  35. This is all great advice- I’m thinking perhaps I’ll have to re-read this post come November and National Novel Writing Month…

  36. A little off-topic. I went to the Star Trek Experience yesterday for the last time. I am still sad. I did meet Chase Masterson (Leeta DS:9)! Although, my wife wasn’t too impressed that I acted like a complete fool. As I shook her hand, I was thinking of Wil’s famous line “OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THAT’S (Insert name here)! BE COOL!” I looked over at my wife and she was standing there with a shit-eating grin. “You’re such a Geek” is all she said. Oh well.
    Thanks for the great page Wil.

  37. I know you are at a convention but Sci Fi is running Next Generation marathon all day! Just watched the first episode with a Borg encounter. It was weird watching it after seeing the Las Vegas Star trek Experience!

  39. Ooops, dropped part of my comment there. Star Trek Experience was what it was supposed to say. Best line: “Did I just get crabs from William Shanter?”

  40. This is really interesting, and I imagine varies from author to author. Although what works for you must be pretty sound advice becuase I really enjoy your writing.
    I’d be interested to see what you think about Brandon Sanderson, and his relatively open style of writing and involvement with his readers. I’m relatively new to his writing (since he was tapped as the author to finish Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series) but I’ve found his openness to his writing process and chapter notes to be very interesting.

  41. How do you prepare for writing? Do you just sit on down and start typing/writing away and the words just come? Or do you do any prep? Outlines, notes, research, whatever? I’m also curious, with all your anecdotal stories, are those pure memories you just pull out of your brain, or have you kept a journal with details your whole life?

  42. At a book signing with Ray Bradbury, the guy in line in front of me introduced himself to Ray as “a fellow writer.” Ray asked if he wrote every day.
    Fanboy: “Er, no, not really.”
    RB: “Well, then I guess you’re not really a writer.”
    After letting the sting soak in for a bit, Ray then went on to give a great pep talk to the guy. A writer isn’t something you do – it’s something you are. Write everyday, he urged. Hone your skills, master your craft.

  43. Hi, Wil.
    I’m new here, and this is my first comment.
    As a writer aspiring to the coveted position of “published,” I also encounter these problems.
    I actually havn’t been writing muchof late, for several reasons, cheif among them being laziness, a loss of spark. Metting you at PAX, though, learning about your writing (I kinda missed your rise in the geek community as a blogger), has fanned the spark back to flame. Thanks.

  44. Wil, as a fellow writer, I could not agree more with your advice. But I was wondering, what advice would you give to someone who has been approached about the availability of film writes for a novel he has written?

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