Idea to Paper
I was recently asked how I write by a good friend of mine. That was/is a good question. I didn’t have a good answer at the time; I still don’t have a great answer.
So far, I’ve finished two manuscripts and started on four more (not to mention the three short stories). I’ve also written outlines, scenes, and ideas for at least six other books. I do write, but how?
I explained a little, but it wasn’t enough for him. I have an idea, sometimes from a dream, and I run with it. Here’s a little of the conversation, kind of paraphrased on my part.
He asked me, “Do you outline?”
Yes, I do, sometimes. I outline most things, at least loosely. I have a strict outline for one of the manuscripts that I started.
Next he asked, “Do you brainstorm?”
Sometimes, not often. Normally I get a scene in my head, sometimes the whole book. If I get just one scene, I might brainstorm (rarely).
He asked, “How do you go from a scene in your head to words on paper?”
I had no idea. “I see it; I write it.”
Lastly he asked, “But how? How do you go from an idea to paper?”
That’s where the conversation ended. I couldn’t see where the dilemma was – I still have problems seeing it. Why? Because I have never had a problem writing what I think or see. I couldn’t relate to the problem he is having. I’m not saying I always wrote well, I didn’t, but I was always able to write.
I thought about the conversation a few times. I was rethinking it today.
Writing is as natural to me as talking, sleeping, or eating. My wife asks me, “How do you fall asleep so fast?” I don’t know, I just do. I lay my head on a pillow when I feel tired and just shut down. I don’t know how else to explain it.
Someday my son might asked me, “How do you use a fork?” I don’t know exactly. You pick it up, stab whatever you are eating (or scoop under it), and move the fork into your mouth without dropping the food along the way or stabbing the inside of you mouth. “But how, Daddy?”
It was the “But how, Daddy?” that clued me in to what I should have told my friend, practice. You need practice.
Like any profession, you need a little interest, a little natural ability, and a lot of education, practice, or both.
I used to draw. I would see scene and try to capture it. I wasn’t great, ever, but the more I practiced, the more I learned, the better I was at the craft.
I woodwork upon occasion. When I am doing a lot of it, I am both quicker and better than when I don’t do it very often.
I am a programmer. When I write in one language for a prolonged period of time, other languages become more difficult. Why? Because I am out of practice with them. I have to reacquaint myself.
To all people that have ideas, but don’t know how to get them on paper, I have one word, PRACTICE.
I can just picture my friend asking, “How do you practice?”
You write, just write. Write anything. Write everything. Write down conversations. Write alternate endings to conversations. Write down descriptions of places like hospital rooms, automotive dealer waiting rooms, your dining room, or your wife’s side of the closet. Write down what someone smelled like in the elevator. Write down what it felt like to hit your thumb with a hammer. Write down how it hurt when your sixth-grade crush embarrassed you on April Fool’s day.
I can write about all those things because I have experienced them. I can picture any one of them, think about it, and phrase it so others could picture it also. You should start by writing about what you have experienced: what you have seen, what you have smelled, what you have felt both physically and emotionally.
Once you have the ability to do some of the minor things, like describe a conversation with alternate endings and describe a hospital room, you can mix them. Soon you will have a scene. If you can do one scene, then others will follow. And that is how you can put an idea to paper.
A writing challenge:
- Write 10 conversations down, but alter them along the way somewhere.
- Describe five locations that you are familiar with.
- Try to capture ten physical sensations and/or emotions.
- Combine one of each to make a scene (may require more alterations to make it flow well).
