Write First, Write Fast, Write to Finish
Last November, I started a one hundred day goal to complete three MasterClasses. I studied writing craft with Joyce Carol Oates, Dan Brown, Neil Gaiman, and James Patterson. Still, some of the greatest lessons learned were gleaned in the time between videos, workbooks, and exercises.
The biggest take away from the pursuit of the goal has been to WRITE FIRST. Write before the world has a chance to seep into your mind. Before news or social media or other reading. Write toward your current project before undertaking any other writing. The subconscious is a mysterious companion along the journey to create your piece. Don't clutter the stage. Let it act and observe. Write what you see! Write first as close to waking as possible.
The next take away - and this is crucial - WRITE FAST. If you're like me, it is important to silence the inner-editor, the self-doubt critic, the grammar and spell checker. Creative writing and rough drafts arrive best when you move in a torrent of blinding speed. Get it all down! Get that raw idea out onto paper. Maybe in time the flood of words will become more coherent. Now is not the time to count on that outcome. Now is the time to get it all out. This is a practice I must continue to learn each time I sit down to write. The technique should become habit and be done on a daily basis.
Which brings us to the third big lesson I’ve learned. This is another method I am still trying to grasp and make real in my writing life. WRITE TO FINISH. At times, I must force myself to complete that torrent of words with a closing thought. Wrap it all up. Come to a conclusion. You do yourself an immense favor when you take your creative piece to ‘The End’.
Don't burden yourself with the need to finish a whole essay, novel, or short story in one sitting if that isn't within your capability. Be certain to reach the end of the major thought or scene you've started in this writing session. I push myself to write until I read the final clever twist of a short story when possible.
Writing to finish wrangles your creative subconscious. It helps focus the imagery necessary to convey your ideas. Without the beginning, middle, and end your writing devolves into a ramble no one will find pleasure in reading.
When the end is reached, then set the piece aside. Allow time and distance to do their work. The pair are uncanny tricksters. When you return to read your writing it almost appears brand new. That's the time to start editing.
What's a campfire without a great story? It would be wrong to wait until the fire is almost out to begin your oration, tell it first. Don't interrupt your tale with side conversation during smores, tell it fast. Never head to your tent for the night before finishing the yarn, tell it to the end. People want to hear your rich and complete stories. But they can’t - because they aren't finished. Unfinished stories cannot live in the world. To ensure your stories gain the life they deserve you must WRITE FIRST, WRITE FAST, and WRITE TO FINISH.