When I started writing my novel, The Sea Knife, I approached the process like any good lawyer. I researched the books that told me what the rules were and then tried to use them so that I could build my case (aka novel).
A year later...
My novel is full of all the mistakes that I read about beforehand. Here are some brief things, though, I learned from writing books to keep me motivated.
1. Just consider your first draft recycling.
2. The simile "writing fiction is like learning an instrument" is overused and true.
At one point, I decided to stop reading books about how to write. I told my friend about my commitment, but I couldn't stop myself from checking out just four more writing books from the library. It was at that point that I decided that I was "coming out." I would transform my fetish into blog fodder.
Afterall, many successful authors are lawyers. Maybe it's because we know how to read the rules. And then learn how to get around them.
I always think of my first draft as my vomit draft. Just get it out, it's not going to be good. But, unlike vomit, you can always make it better. Terrific idea for a blog by the way.
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