When you look at a beautiful, well-crafted house, it’s easy to consider its existence facile and immediate. But finished construction projects always begin with a spark in a head, followed by a pencil to paper, then a shovel to the ground.
The foundation is poured, the framing is nailed, the roof screwed on before any of the interior finishes are mastered. Why would a finished book be any different? In reading The Wind, an incredibly well-crafted short story by Lauren Groff, I keep reminding myself of this lest I get discouraged and quit just when I’ve started: how will my writing ever be as good as hers? Good writing requires foundations, framing, roofs, and interior design in methodical succession, too. What I don’t see when I read her words in the New Yorker are the scaffolding, discarded chunks of drywall, paint drippings, and editors like construction workers leaving muddy footprints all over her drafts that undoubtedly preceded her finished work.
Who cares if the first draft is good? It doesn’t need to be good, it just needs to be, so you can revise it. You don’t need an idea to start a short story. You just need a sentence. Where does the sentence come from? Wherever. It doesn’t have to be anything special, over time, as you keep reacting to it. Reacting to that sentence, then changing it, hoping to divest it of some of its ordinariness or sloth is…writing. That’s all writing needs to be.” – George Saunders
Speaking of craft, let’s talk tools. I’ve settled on a personal writing process. I do not start directly on the computer. I start longhand in a Midori Traveler’s Notebook, using a Lamy Safari (per the recommendation of my nephew, Gian) or Kaküno fountain pen. I also have Japanese Copic markers lying about and will sometimes add drawings when I feel blocked. After my first draft is handwritten, I then type it into Scrivener, which necessitates numbering my notebooks and notebook pages so I can cross-reference later. This paper-to-digital process is great because it facilitates a first edit. What I imagine happening after I get the memory chunks into Scrivener is that I’ll then post them to Dropbox Paper for editing. The commenting and collaboration capabilities there are great. On second thought, maybe I’ll use Word. When I’ve worked with editors before, Word was their preferred editing tool. Another thing to figure out….
Speaking of editing, I’m not ready for this stage yet, but I plan to hire a professional editor. I have abandoned many a raw piece of other people’s writing that should have never been released to the public without multiple revisions by the author first, let alone a pass under an editor’s pen. I know what I know and I know what I don’t. To edit thoroughly and well is the least I can do to show respect for you, Dear Reader. God forbid this book becomes a chore to slog through instead of literature to cherish. *
* Each of these posts is edited by Will before I publish. He’s not a professional editor, but his wonderful late mother, Pat, was an English teacher and consequently, he’s not a bad writer himself. This newsletter is a journal; editing the book will be held to more rigorous standards.
Things That Nourished My Writing: Feb 22-March 1.
DESIGN
Japanese Stationery: What’s the Big Deal?
FILM
FOOD
Goodnow Farms Putnam Rye Whiskey bars
Nuts.com Whey Protein Powder (I make smoothies almost every mid-morning).
MUSIC
Meghan Trainor’s No and Me Too (Thank you, Bria!)
OUTDOORS
Alpine skiing at Snoqualmie Pass