Allowing for the possibility of the simultaneity of time
(each that one, spell checker!), and the potential for influencing our past
selves from the present, to create a better future (that is, current) outcome
for ourselves, here is a little missive from me 'now' to me 'then' (circa 1980
something).
Hello. If you can see
me, sorry about the hair. On the plus side, you'll save a fortune on all those
combs you keep losing.
You're obsessed with writing and you're still picking away at that fantasy novel of yours. Good, stick with it, but don't become too attached to the way it looks now. While I have your attention, here are some writing tips from your (probable) future.
You're obsessed with writing and you're still picking away at that fantasy novel of yours. Good, stick with it, but don't become too attached to the way it looks now. While I have your attention, here are some writing tips from your (probable) future.
You may want to jot them down in that notebook you carry around with you all the time...
1. Talking about
writing isn't writing. Neither is wishing. The considerable time spent on both of those activities could be better applied on the page.
2. The first draft is
play. After that, it's work. This means that if your first draft is really
difficult there's something awry. Do you know your characters well enough? Are you
really committed to this particular book? Do you know why it's so important to
write this book now? Is there something else you'd rather be writing?
3. The first draft
will be as rough as a cat's tongue, and that's perfectly okay. Don't get trapped in the perfection game.
4. Write about the things that matter to you, even the things that trouble you. No one else has to see it. And yes, I still remember you burning a book you wrote, in your teens, because someone looked at it without permission. Get a lockable cupboard, or a safe!
5. Invest in yourself and in your writing. GO TO NIGHT SCHOOL! If you start a course, bloody well finish it. You already try different types of writing, but go deeper. And don't expect too much from the songwriting thing. And keep the comedy notes.
6. Don't be afraid. On the page, I mean. Write whatever you damn well please. Unfair, sordid, longing, dark - get the words out and worry about the sense of it later. In fact, forget looking for any sense. They are just words. Rejoice in the power of self-expression for its own sake.
7. Seek out the company of other writers and learn from them. You can do that in writers' groups, in a library, or just by keeping your antenna primed.
8. Lastly, don't wait for things to happen. Make them happen. And then write about them. See you in quite a few years!
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Cause & Effect
Other books about Thomas Bladen and the Surveillance Support Unit.
