Note: I usually don't subscribe to this conceit, but for the purposes of this post, let's use these definitions for writers and authors. (Usually I use the terms authors and writers interchangeably. Some people I know, however, actually do define the two differently as below.)
Writers – People who tinker with ideas, maybe write a few things down, but are not published.
Authors – People who used to be writers until they realized they couldn't stop writing and got themselves published.
There are many reasons why there are a lot of writers in this world, and not a lot of authors. Editors and agents will probably say it's because there is a lot of crap in the world and only very few people with the talent to channel that crap into gold. But I believe there are other reasons why writers don't become authors. The first one I've discussed before. Time management. Writers simply don't focus enough of their day into actually writing. But the other big reason is simple.
Writers don't finish what they've started.
Why is that? There are plenty of self-help books on helping people become writers. The books discuss the do's and don'ts of writing, technique, style, voice, how to get an agent or how to hook an editor. Several of them even mention the First Rule of Writing, "sit down and write." But so few of them address the issues that confront a lot of writers. So, I am going to blog about why I think so few writers become authors.
PROBLEM – Too Many Ideas
A writer allows himself to be overwhelmed by the plethora of brilliant story ideas he has, to the point that he's not actually writing anything down because he's too busy sorting them all in his head.
SOLUTION? Carry around a tablet, cell phone, digital recorder, or a notepad. As soon as you think of the idea, record all the details you can think of at the moment of inception only, then file the ideas when you get home in a file cabinet or organizer by subject. When you have some free time, pick only one or two of these ideas (pick randomly if you have trouble deciding) and focus solely on them for the extent of your story.
PROBLEM – Too Few Ideas
A writer freezes when she sits down at a keyboard, typewriter, or notepad, unable to think of anything to write. Or maybe the writer is terrified to sit down to write at all, fearful that what few ideas she has will completely go out of her head when she's ready to put them down in tangible format.
SOLUTION? Grab a digital recorder, or put a mic on your cell phone and dictate the idea to your voice mail or the recorder. If that doesn't float your boat, ask someone to record your ideas when you're not paying attention. Dragon Speaking Naturally is a great program for transcribing verbal thoughts into words (so I've been told). If you prefer typing, then read a magazine article or listen to the television for about 15 minutes. You can even just listen to the commercials. Write down three to five words based on the article / program you just saw and use those as prompts to get a story going. And if that doesn't work, find an ordinary article lying around the house and write down thoughts on how this ordinary object is actually an extraordinary object that has powers or saves the world or is has properties no one else can see.
PROBLEM – Fear of the blank page / screen
Not entirely related to Too Few Ideas, this fear keeps a writer paralyzed in front of his laptop or notepad. The blank is so daunting, few words (if any) ever make it onto the document.
SOLUTION? Remember, it's okay to write crap. It does not have to be perfect the first, second, or third time around. It only has to be perfect when you send it out into the world, which happens after you've written about umpteen million drafts. If you can't get started, try typing out a chapter in your favorite mystery or fairy tale-for practice purposes only. Sometimes you just need to get your brain engaged with your fingers, bypassing your frontal cortex (or your internal editor, as Laura Mixon likes to say) before you can actually get story down. So write something, anything, even just the Star Spangled Banner, to let your brain know it's writing time. Then let a little stream of consciousness writing happen and before you know it, you'll be working on your story.
PROBLEM – Self Confidence, or Lack Thereof
This is a big one. A writer thinks she's a horrible writer, nothing she puts down is any good despite what Grandpa Bubba says. She's a horrible person, why would anyone ever want to read her stuff, etc.
So, this isn't a solution so much as a truth. Guess what? Even published authors think their work is crap or that they're lousy authors and question what worth their work has. Next time you go to a convention and see a group of authors, ask them. 9 out of 10 of them will agree they've had their bad moments.
SOLUTION? Persistence is key. Everyone, every single writer and author, has thousands of words of crap inside them (a quote from numerous editors, agents, and authors). You have to keep writing in order to get the crap out of your system. Part of this is honing your craft and finding your voice. The other part is working out all the predictable cliches. Keep writing and writing and writing. You'll start to recognize when your writing improves. It takes time. The more you write, the faster "good" will come. In the meantime, buck up. Even the greatest authors have their down moments.
PROBLEM – Too Much Confidence
Oh, yes, the writer who thinks he's so wonderful that he doesn't have to write at all in order to get published. He's so brilliant that all he has to do is tell other writers and authors and agents and editors and everyone else in creation about his genius idea and why it revolutionizes the publishing industry that he will get an instant offer of a million dollar (or more) contract without even having to query or write chapter 1.
SOLUTION? Um, sorry. There really isn't one. Until you acknowledge the fact that no one offers contracts on a proposal-only basis until you are published, and that any idea you've come up with has already been published (there is no such thing as an original idea, just an original presentation), there is no help for you. The only way to become an author is to put it in tangible format and sell it. If you're not doing that, then you're not going far.
PROBLEM – Meandering Characters Refuse to Cooperate or Act
Many writers get overly involved in their stories, allowing their characters to take over. There are also writers who simply don't understand their characters, or their plot, enough to actually do anything with them. The scenes and the chapters wander on and nothing gets accomplished. Even the ending only happens because the writer simply stopped writing rather than resolve anything.
SOLUTION? I don't remember which Viable Paradise instructor said it, but all agreed. "When in doubt, break something." Not real, mind you. Something in the story. An airplane falls out of the sky, a character pulls out a sword, a car careens off a bridge, or a forest catches on fire. Remember all great action movies and thrillers have something go wrong just as all the characters are relaxing into a routine. It doesn't matter if you can explain it when you write it. Write the breakage, then worry about the explaining as the characters are trying to clean it up. A problem is always easier to solve once you've written it down anyway.
PROBLEM – Characters Won't Do as They're Told
Oh, brother, do I have issues with this one. So do a few other authors I've met. The characters stubbornly refuse to go in the plot direction the writer intends. So, rather than fix the issue, the writer simply gives up and wanders off to find a new story idea.
SOLUTION? Don't do that! If the characters are heading in unexpected directions or refuse to let them be shoehorned into a necessary bit of plot, find out why. Maybe where they want to go is more interesting than the direction you've been forcing them in. Or maybe you just haven't given them a good reason why they need to do Horrible Thing Y. Knowing your characters, understanding their motivations, is key to getting them to do what the story needs them to do.
I actually had a written conversation with one of my characters once. He made a decision that altered history and the end of the story dictated that he had to fix things back to the original history. He absolutely refused to let me write the fix, though. So we chatted. Turns out that even though the alternate history was killing his species, he refused to change things back because of all the innocent lives the new history had saved (it changed a war). When he finally admitted that to me, I went back into the story and wrote a bit about his best friend (one of the innocents) from the other timeline who hadn't survived in this timeline. Boy, did that character change his mind right quick about fixing things.
PROBLEM – Fear of Finishing
Another big one. A writer who always starts a story, but can never end it. Often, she can't even get past the big humps in the middle to keep the story going. It's as if she's terrified of what will happen to the story, what will happen to her, if she actually reaches that end point. The story meanders here and there, never accomplishing much because the beast at the end is waiting to devour her and end her world.
SOLUTION? An ending to a story is essential, no matter what type of story you are writing. But it doesn't have to be all glitter and roses or death and woe. Simply put, the end of the story is the resolution of one major point of conflict. Many stories resolve all the subplots. Many stories don't. Your characters are more than welcome to stick around after the ending trying to decide if they want to wander off into the sunset or head on
into more glory. The point isn't to necessarily tie up every loose end or make everything tidy. Remember, even a tragic resolution is a resolution.
Jim McDonald (Author, Viable Paradise instructor) put it best. Your character must decide between his wants and his needs. If he chooses his needs, the story is heroic. If he chooses his wants, the story is a tragedy.
This list is not an exhaustive list of why writers fail to become authors, but it is, I think, a start. Every writer has a chance to become an author. You just need to find out why you haven't yet, then find a solution past the problem.
If anyone else has any problems and solutions they'd like to suggest, please let me know. I'm sure this post has a part 2 hiding somewhere in my gray matter, and anyone who suggests will get credited.
