I always intended to include an occasional series here about the process of writing, including a realtime posting of the difficulties I’m facing as I create new material. There will be posts coming up doing just this, looking at issues around my new novel, ‘The Raven Sound’, but for my first ‘Hopefully interesting things about writing’ post, I though it might be good to start with a few rules I follow myself, and that I posted on a blog a few years back. They specifically target writing non-fiction in this instance, but equally applicable to all types of writing.
Aspirational Rules
- Save the introduction until the end, which might sound counter-intuitive, but actually makes the most sense as the book can change shape and content as you write, and you want the introduction to guide you through the main themes and what to expect.
- Don’t edit yet. Resist the urge. Again, might sound counter intuitive but to get the juices flowing, just write and don’t worry too much even about grammar and spelling. It is the easiest trap in the world to revise and edit the page or paragraph you’ve just written ( third go at this one now), but getting the framework down is the important bit. There’s plenty of time for the delights of revision later.
- Don’t be too rigid on what you meant to write. Already I had to ditch numerous facts and theories in my research, and it is so tempting to force evidence to fit a neat hypothesis, but in non-fiction, the truth is the important bit, not what you wanted to be able to say.
- The same rule applies to structure. Be flexible. I may find my original plan on presenting the history of a place reads better in some parts than others, in a different tone than intended, or some historical figures turn out to be more useful than others. Which leads me onto something I have to remind myself…
- I’m writing for you, not me. I have to be comfortable and enjoy what I’m doing, but if the way I present facts doesn’t interest you, then it’s pretty pointless going for publication. Some facts and stories I may find dull or have heard a hundred times; doesn’t mean you won’t love them.
For the last bullet above about who I’m writing for, this is tricky as to a slightly lesser extent it also applies to fiction. The author’s and the character’s voices need to be truthful yes, but you still need one eye on how your potential audience will react to what is written!