What is keeping you from finishing your book? A few weeks ago I included a poll in this newsletter asking exactly this question, and half of the respondents said they couldn't figure out the best way to tell the story they want to tell.
Boy, can I relate! You have an idea. You have some key scenes in mind. You probably already know how the story ends. But as you start getting it all down, maybe you begin to realize how many options are open to youβhow to start the story, the pacing, the point of view, the tense, what to include or exclude. The list of choices you can make is endless!
Or maybe, as you start writing, you start judging your work. You're thinking, "Wait a hot second. This isn't as good as I want it to be. In fact, it's terrible." This is a disappointing moment and it can cause a lot of writers to freeze. As writers and readers, we have good taste and it's devastating to see our efforts not measure up to our good taste. (Ira Glass talks about this, which I've shared here before. I love how this 2-minute video captures Glass's thoughts on this.)
There may be other reasons you're having trouble figuring out how to best tell the story you're dying to tell, but in my experience these two are the most common. So what do you do?
- As Ira Glass says, bring your taste and writing ability into alignment by creating a body of work. That is, by writing a lot. This takes time but it is effort that will pay off.
- Get really specific on what you want your book to say, what other current books yours will be in conversation with (also known as comp titles), and who your book is for. For many writers, considering these broader points helps them envision their book in the world, on a shelf or in the hands of readers. For some, this is inspiration enough to get them going.
- Work with me on a blueprint for your book. This is a detailed document that you can develop before you write your first word or even after a few drafts. It's more than an outline; it's a map. And it is flexible enough to grow with your project as you write. (If you want to know more, reply to this email and we'll talk!)
- Just start writing your book and give yourself a ton of grace knowing that your perfect book will not arrive on the page all of a piece. You will refine it and bring your story to life through the time-honored tradition of revision.
You may wonder if you can just drop your outline or manuscript into an AI platform and ask it how best to tell your story. I beg you not to for these reasons:
- Large language models (LLMs) are built on the backs of other writers' work.
- Your words and ideas, even if not yet fully formed, are so much better than the sterile output of an LLM.
- The work of writing is where the joy liesβand, yes, the angst, frustration, and maybe even fear, too. Don't rob yourself of these human emotions. Especially the joy.
I want to live in a world filled with human stories written by humans. Is this the world you want, too? If so, I hope you'll persevere in writing your story.
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