Misconceptions About Writing

Writing. The big exciting thing that some people do to create epic stories. But it seems this job is sometimes loaded with mysticism, with unrealistic expectations or beliefs. In this week's blog post, we'll be exploring some common myths about writing.

Writers get so much done every day.

After we check Facebook, Instagram, various online writing groups, and look at e-mail. And play Neopets, eat a sandwich, and maybe bake a cake. That's when we finally get to work.

Uh, let's see now, I had a plan for this scene. What was I gonna do? This is going so slowly. Oh man, there's so many adverbs in this paragraph. I'll have to edit this scene big time later on. I really don't want to write this, I want to get to that other scene already. Okay, I'm here now, but where did my passion for this scene go?

It's been forever. Surely I have lots written, right?

Three hours and I only wrote 252 words?! NO!!!

Note that there may be breaks in the middle of said slow writing, in order to check social media again, post funny things about the writing process on social media, whinge about writing on social media, chat on writers' groups... And that's when we're not walking around for no reason, getting a snack, getting something to drink, visiting the bathroom because we had to drink four cups of coffee just to write a ten-word sentence, or noticing that hangnail on our thumb.

Okay, sometimes writers have good days where we write a few thousand words. But we also have days where we sit down to write, and not much is actually written. The awesomeness comes and goes as it pleases.

Writing a novel is so easy. Anyone can do it.

Okay then, try writing a story at least 40k in length. You'll moan, scream, tear your hair out, and weep. After many inconsistencies, flat characters, plot holes, losing your train of thought, and other pains, you finally have your story. Assuming you didn't give up and chuck the manuscript into the virtual or physical trash can, that is.

And then you realize it's crummy, and it really needs a rewrite. You'd rather reenact some of the more disastrous dinners at the Gilmore house than rewrite that whole darn thing. In fact, you'd rather slide down a banister of razor blades and land in a pool of alcohol, or eat your own hand.

Rory Gilmore:  Would you like me to drive, so you can continue your diatribe?

Thanks. (hands her car keys) I'd rather cut off my head and use it as a punch bowl.

It takes a lot to sit down and try to churn out a novel. Even more to actually finish, and not rage-quit on chapter two. And then to edit and rewrite, and edit and rewrite some more, and... (cries)

In my experience, though, moaning and groaning aids the process tremendously. See my other blog posts for a special inside look on crying over manuscripts.

Writers have control.

(uproarious laughter) Hold on just a moment. (uproarious laughter continues) Any time now... (more laughter) ALL RIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!

Ahem. So anyway, now that the characters are done... (faint snicker) (glares at characters) Now that I can be heard again, let's tackle this one.

Writers have little control of what happens. We're just along for the ride. For people who don't have noisy, demanding characters in their heads, it might be difficult to comprehend that a made-up character has a mind of their own, but they really do. Sometimes they run away with the plot, or they react differently than how the writer expected.
If you don't believe me, ask Rutholle about their listening abilities when I said no to their idea for the kingdom's emblem. Or to Lucisead, who took advantage of my ignorance while I was trying to find an emblem for a totally different kingdom. Or to the various peoples who settled wherever they jolly well pleased, ignoring my every word on the subject. "No, that's not where I wanted you, and... you super-glued your feet to the ground, didn't you." (characters grin)
And if you're still skeptical, ask the royal families of Alsteria and Eroendia about that meeting that was supposed to be productive, but instead erupted into argument and everyone storming off. Or the minor character you asked for, just to appear for a brief time... only for them to come in with a huge backstory, and demand a bigger part in the series.

Characters/plot/etc. always represent the writer's own opinions and personality.

While a story might represent the writer's feeling about what society is coming to, or a character might have the same passion for saving the dolphins, this isn't always true. And it's not just the 'bad guys' who provide contrast to the author. It goes right back to the myth of writers having control. They tend to become their own independent beings, not just elements of the writer's own feelings and traits.

For example, let's take June. She's had a rough life, and a very different upbringing than my own. While she shares some of my opinions and beliefs, in other ways she differs from me vastly. She's bitter in ways that I'm not, is more judgmental and skeptical of people. While I'm a Christian, June doesn't put much stock in religion. If there is a God, why does such evil exist, and why did she go through the things she did? While I dream of marrying someday, she has no interest in romance whatsoever. She also uses language I prefer to avoid. June's the sort of character who inspires writer-character arguments like, "No, you're not saying that, and I'm not writing it. Tone it down and try again."
In the same way, I don't agree with Arrick's idea of running away from his problems, or how he and Joseline both keep secrets that hurt others. I feel that Gareth went about solving a problem the wrong way. To ensure the happiness of some, he made a choice which caused terrible grief to others. Among other things my characters sometimes think, say, or do.

Of course, all of this just proves that no person, whether real or fictional, is perfect. Nor do you have to agree with someone all the time to find them likable. Some of my characters, I really like, but don't always agree with what they do. And believe me, sometimes I want to reach into the story, shake them, and yell "What are you thinking?!" too. But that's only because Xander doesn't know what's best for him, and tends to take the easy (and often irresponsible) way out.

Writers are sophisticated humans in a regal writing office.

Okay, J.R.R. Tolkien does a good job of looking sophisticated in a regal writing office. But then again, people probably weren't taking pictures of that big jumbled pile of papers, or the messily scrawled handwriting in his journals.

As I'm writing this blog post, I'm doing in-home pet-sitting, so I'm on a wooden chair in someone else's kitchen, with a small laptop I borrowed from my aunt sitting on the kitchen island. My snazzy writing outfit is jeans and an old t-shirt.

And when I get home, my writing environment will be a bedroom with a box of books on the floor, and more books piled on top and around it. I'll be sitting on the bed, using a pillow as a 'laptop desk'. A pile of laundry lies on the floor, perhaps approaching the height of Mt. Everest. The headboard of the bed is dusty, with one cubbyhole containing a pile of mail I really need to put in the shred pile, and a few random socks from when I found pairs that had one holey sock and one good one.

The writing materials of a writer aren't neat, either. Some people have a million journals or scraps of paper, while others have a huge mess on their hard drive. You see, to find the story you're looking for, you just go to Documents > Author > Talavcen > Aesora > Aesora- other stories > Newales- other stories. Simple, right?
It's pretty bad when you need sub-folders for your sub-folders for your sub-folders just to keep things somewhat organized. And then you forget where you put that list of potential character names, or that useful thing on when to use an em dash or ellipsis. But hey, we sort of know where stuff is. That's good enough, right? (rummages through five hundred pieces of paper to find a specific drawing of a gryphon)

Writers are totally serious when working.

Which must explain notes like 'Xander runs for life again (better get used to it, mate)' and 'Ruthollen phrase that no one will tell me the origin or history of'. Or why I have files with names like 'black hole of world-building', 'junk to look up', and 'rose bush of pain'.

Or we write things like this when lacking motivation.

Besides that, we hear our characters say hilarious things, or we envision humorous events, and then laugh so hard we cry. Sometimes we just make fun of our bad writing mistakes. When unable to think of names for things, we also come up with great placeholders.
"I'm from Homeland, in northern Island." he told Mrs Whozit.
And of course, we always take our placeholders seriously, and don't make jokes about perhaps choosing a place name that sounds suspiciously like "I dunno".


We always write what we know.

Which, in the language of Meowmocha, means 'write what you have no clue about, and try to figure it out along the way'. Yep. If we knew what we were doing beforehand, there wouldn't be so many people on writing forums, asking questions like, "How long before my character recovers from this?" "What's so-and-so place like in winter?" "Need info about technological advances during this time period."
Yeah, we totally know what we're doing when we start writing. That's why we do so much editing and rewriting, because this doesn't make sense, this is totally inaccurate, and out recent last-minute research has added story aspects that didn't exist five seconds ago.

Really, when we see super-awesome things in stories, some of it's probably stuff the writer didn't know much (or anything) about until they ended up writing about it.
"Hey, did you know about this obscure dog breed? Or that pterosaurs aren't a kind of dinosaur? Or that there's six surviving Celtic languages today?"
"Wow, you're so knowledgeable. Where did this all come from?"
"Oh, I did some world-building yesterday."


Writers are pale, reclusive beings, and deeply troubled.

Okay, I have a fair complexion, hiss at the sun, and I'm kind of an introvert. But that doesn't mean I never go to the movies, or to a party, or even set foot outside. Although, when it's 100°F (37.8°C), I prefer not to venture into the blazing heat. I'm a winter person, myself.

And besides that, not all writers are depressed and shunned by society, sitting in their depressing little hovel of poverty and drinking away their sorrows. Though they sometimes feel troubled when they look over their draft and discover a glaring plot hole, or a million errors that will take forever to fix, or they get writer's block on their novel again... (drowns sorrows in chocolate milk)


So there you have it. Some of the common misconceptions about insane people, er, writers. There's no confusion about that one; it seems many writers are a bit mad. But fear not, I'm not among the crazy ones. (cackles maniacally)