You’ve probably heard the phrase “write what you know.” But if we only wrote what we knew, we’d never discover anything new! As you revise, it may be a good time to let your story go to new places. Today, ten-time NaNo winner Meg Dowell encourages you to get out of your comfort zone:
Have you ever written a story that takes you so far out of your comfort zone you’re not sure you’ll ever find your way back again? I think every writer should aim for this creative milestone... someday.
Because I’ve done and won NaNo 10 years in a row, I knew a goal of 50,000 words just wouldn’t be enough. I needed a different kind of challenge to propel my writing forward this time around.
So I decided to write a story that made me uncomfortable.
A different genre; different themes; characters I’d never met before. It took research to understand perspectives that directly opposed mine. I took the story I wanted to write and flipped it so that every word I typed felt unfamiliar—and yet, somehow, right.
I was surprised to discover how much I had to lean on my instinct as a storyteller to make all the words happen. That instinct is not something many of us are comfortable with, especially when we’re desperately trying to write as much as possible in such a short amount of time.
You know those random flashes of inspiration you get in the shower—the ones you don’t ask for or expect, and have to sprint to your laptop, still dripping from your cleanse, to write them down before they disappear? That’s your story, trapped inside your head, saying, “This is what happens now.”
“Listen to your story. It knows the way. And the way is never comfortable.“
It doesn’t matter if you can’t figure out how each piece fits into your story, or you don’t want to write that scene because it’s too weird or too gross or it hits too close to home.
Listen to your story. It knows the way. And the way is never comfortable. Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut instinct. Let your characters drive the story for awhile. Let your story tell itself.
Whether you’re finishing up the novel you started in November or you’re venturing back into it wearing an editor’s lens, it doesn’t matter if it’s comfortable or rational or “good.” If it’s the direction your story wants to go, let it go. Follow it. Watch it take shape. Allow yourself to turn up the volume, raise the stakes, twist that narrative, do something different.
When you reread that passage and think, “I should have written it this way,” write it that way. When you don’t feel you’ve built up a character enough, build them up more. If harsher words can be spoken, thrust them into the dialogue whether you’d say them out loud yourself or wouldn’t dare.
Deep down, you know your story’s still growing. You may hesitate to let it because you don’t yet recognize what it feels like to give up full control of this thing you thought you understood.
Stories evolve even while we’re still working on them. Your first draft may be its own finished product, and yes, you should be exceptionally proud of it.
But the work isn’t over. Listen closely, and you’ll hear the echoes of the game-changing story elements you considered including, but didn’t. Now is the time to be bold! Go where you have never gone before. Take this thing you’re already so proud of, and make it better. Turn it into everything you didn’t know it could be, or feared you couldn’t skillfully construct.
Your novel begs to be set free.
Will you choose comfort? Or will you leave your old story behind, and make way for a version much grander than anything you’ve written before?
Meg Dowell is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a ten-time NaNoWriMo winner, blogger, and book-buying enthusiast. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food, and nerdy things.
Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Fred Marie on Flickr.
http://megdowell.com/2019/07/26/yes-you-will-finish-writing-that-thing/
— Read on megdowell.com/2019/07/26/yes-you-will-finish-writing-that-thing/
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