Focusing on the Writing First

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

When I was a kid, my elementary school would have tornado drills at least twice in a school year.  What I remember most about these drills was that the teachers would direct all the children into the hallway to kneel with our arms covering our heads…and then they’d spend the entire drill busily cranking open the casement windows.  The prevailing wisdom at the time (at least, in my elementary school), was that the windows must be opened or else the school would explode from the pressure during a tornado.  I know…it sounds nutty now.

Actually, it seemed crazy to me at the time that the teachers would be working so long and so hard to open those half-painted-shut windows…during a tornado. I remember thinking, “So…if this were a real tornado, the kids will all be safe in the hall.  And all the adults will be dead because they’re trying to open the windows.  What will we do then?”  The windows just weren’t the right things to be focusing on.

Twice recently, I’ve had new writers approach me to ask me publishing-related questions for unfinished first manuscripts.  I actually used to love talking with new writers.  I couldn’t figure out why other writers disliked it so much.  Lately, though, I completely understand.  As I listened to them asking me questions about the industry, my heart sank.  How could I possibly give them any direction in only a few minutes? 

Neither had ever finished a book.  One had been working on a book for years, but not regularly.  It was something she picked up every few months.  She was concerned about agents and publishers and how to approach them.  

The other writer asked me about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing and building a platform.  And the writer looked totally overwhelmed.  I’d have been totally overwhelmed, too.  Working on a first novel, thinking about all the social media and the way the industry is imploding or exploding or improving (depending how you look at it.) 

It all reminded me of the teachers trying to crank those windows open.  Their principal had them focused on the wrong task.  They should have huddled down next to us in the hall.  Writers need to huddle down and write. 

Yes, we’ve got to follow the industry news.  It will help give us direction when we’re figuring out the best avenue for publishing our story.  Plus, it’s just such a dynamic time that our whole concept of the publishing industry could become outdated in a short period of time.  But the story comes first.

Platform building is important. But the timing of its importance is in question.  If it prevents you from writing that first book, that’s a problem.   Industry expert Jane Friedman put it bluntly in her recent post (and the entire post is an insightful read)  on Writer Unboxed,  5 Industry Trends Requiring Every Writer’s Attention:

If you’re a totally new, unpublished writer who is focused on fiction,
memoir, poetry, or any type of narrative-driven work, forget you ever
heard the word platform. I think it’s causing more damage than good.
It’s causing writers to do things that they dislike (even hate), and
that are unnatural for them at an early stage of their careers. They’re
confused, for good reason, and platform building grows into a raging
distraction from the work at hand—the writing. 


I do think it’s nice to have a home base on the web…a website, a blog, some place to hang your hat.  Definitely a professional-sounding email address, at the very least. But instead of platforming, new writers should think about discovering information from the writing community–craft, industry news, support.  Again, nothing that takes the place of the writing.  Platforming makes more sense for writers who have books launching. 

Once the book is finished, we do have lots of decisions to make and tons of information to absorb.  But we’re focused in the wrong direction, it makes it even harder to find time to write.

How do you keep focused on your writing instead of all the other writing-related issues (industry changes, networking, platforming, agents and publishers)?  For me, it means knocking out my daily writing goal before hopping online.

Image: MorgueFile: npclark2k 

Elizabeth Spann Craig

View posts by Elizabeth Spann Craig
Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series (as Riley Adams) and the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin and writes the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently. She also has a blog, which was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. There she posts on the writing craft, finding inspiration in everyday life, and fitting writing into a busy schedule.

19 Comments

  1. Margot KinbergMarch 22, 2013

    Elizabeth – I think you’re absolutely right about focusing on the writing. Shaping a story and making it the best we can is at the very heart of being a writer. The rest is part of it too, but it all starts with writing. Your post reminds me of a rock band that wants to ‘make it big,’ and spends more time choosing their ‘look’ than working on their music. In my opinion it’s all about priorities.

  2. Karen WalkerMarch 22, 2013

    Brilliant, Elizabeth. I think I knew this intuitively when I began writing my novel a few years ago. I had to let go of everything except allowing this story to emerge. Even now that my first draft is done, I am reveling in the fact I wrote a novel, even if no one else ever reads it. The writing must come first.
    Karen

  3. Teresa ColtrinMarch 22, 2013

    Very true. We really ARE what we focus on.

  4. j wellingMarch 22, 2013

    You are just spot-on, again. You should have this printed on the back of your business cards.

    We writers are content first. That’s our part. Everything else lives two blocks away from content. It’s a walk to get there.

    Content.

    Loved this.

  5. L. Diane WolfeMarch 22, 2013

    If one is still in the writing phase, they can start researching the other stuff, but the focus should still be the writing. You still have to finish the book, edit, find critique partners, edit some more, and then one can start looking for an agent or publisher.

    I used to get pumped for information all the time by people who were ‘thinking of writing a book!’

  6. Alex J. CavanaughMarch 22, 2013

    Hey, I wasn’t even online when I signed the contract for my first book! If I’d known everything that was involved with establishing a platform, I probably wouldn’t have even written that book.

  7. B.E. SandersonMarch 22, 2013

    Great post! I wasn’t really hooked into the social media scene through writing my first couple books. And you’re right – the writing is the most important thing.

    I work it the other way. I do most of my writing-related things – social media, industry research – first thing in the morning and I write at night. (When life doesn’t get in the way, like it has been recently.)

  8. Carol KilgoreMarch 22, 2013

    So true. First we write. I’m exactly like that. If I write first, I sometimes have time to write later, too. But if I don’t write first, there isn’t a later in that day for writing.

  9. Hilary Melton-ButcherMarch 22, 2013

    Hi Elizabeth – so relevant to life .. as Margot said too ..

    Very pertinent to today .. cheers Hilary

  10. Jemi FraserMarch 22, 2013

    The writing is SO much more important. I jumped into the social media arena far too early. it’s been fun, but I wish I’d waited a couple of years. :)

  11. Elizabeth Spann Craig/Riley AdamsMarch 22, 2013

    Margot–What a great analogy! Yes, exactly like that. Creating a brand, but without a perfected product.

    Diane–Oh gosh. Yes, I think many people have a book in them! I come across many of them. :)

    Alex–So true! You did it perfectly. :)

    B.E.–Exactly….whenever you’re more productive/creative. I think my brain is usually toast by about 3 p.m., but sometimes I do get a second wind.

    Karen–You *wrote* it. You finished a book! And, believe me, out of the many writers I’ve talked with over the years…that’s a REAL feat. You definitely should feel great about that!

    Teresa–In every part of our life. Absolutely. And a good point there. That might be a topic for another post! When I’m with my children, I’m Mom. Not a writer at all. Because they’re my focus right then. Now, on *bad* days (when my parenting really slips), I’m distracted writer mom trying to make a deadline…and not creating a good balance.

    j welling–Ha! Maybe I’ll do that and hand it out the next time I’m asked for industry info. :) I’m sure my expression is so distressed when I’m asked about publishing stuff that I must discourage the poor writers. Maybe a handout on the ready wouldn’t be a bad thing!

    Hilary–Thanks so much for coming by!

    Carol–That’s usually the way my days go, too. I mean…if I can’t get my writing done at 5 a.m., when is the day going to get any better?

    Jemi–I know what you mean! I hopped on social media about a year before my first book came out…but I feel like I had my priorities out of whack at the time. I spent a lot of time getting set up on social media and not enough time writing.

  12. Maya PrasadMarch 22, 2013

    I totally agree, and in fact I just wrote a similar post in my myths on getting an agent series this month:
    http://www.mayaprasad.com/2013/03/word-on-street-is-wrong-myths-on_18.html

    Btw, I’d love it if you would add me to your RSS list. What are you using now that Google Reader is shutting down?

  13. Elizabeth Spann Craig/Riley AdamsMarch 23, 2013

    Maya–Thanks for the link! I’ll check it out. :)

    I’ll add you to my RSS. I’m using Feedly right now, and The Old Reader and will see which I like better. Thanks for coming by!

  14. Julie MusilMarch 23, 2013

    So true. I make myself write before I get sidetracked on social media. Otherwise, I’d never get anything done.

    I’m super glad I started writing before I’d even heard about blogs or Twitter. Thank goodness!

  15. musesingsMarch 23, 2013

    From a new writer who use to focus on this and lost years of work and practice (for a variety of reasons), I can honestly say, allowing myself to worry about these issues was a favoured, subconscious delay tactic.

    I was afraid of failure and success and subtly allowed myself to get hung up on this excess after-the-writing work.

    I only have one finished rough draft, but I’m enjoying writing again thanks to my blog. Working on a blog series in the open, another one behind the scenes to follow, and a novel as well.

    I also stopped trying to have a voice and make connections across all social media. I focus on facebook, dabble in twitter, and rarely visit anything else. Much improved over trying to juggle them all full time. I stopped that when I realized I was sitting there for hours putting work into these social media connections, reading and sharing other people, that I wasn’t working on my work at all.

    I still read and share others work and put effort into my connections and social media contacts. I just stopped letting it delay my own work and the future of my babies.

    Thanks for this post! Anyone it applies to, if you reach my comment, don’t lose years like I did allowing all this extra stuff to delay your creations. Don’t be scared, be brave and write! When you’re too tired, write some more! Don’t forget to enjoy your stories along the way.

    If you’ve lost that joy, do anything you can to get it back, even if that means writing goofy fanfic you don’t intend to publish and give yourself permission to be horrible at.

  16. Maya PrasadMarch 23, 2013

    Thanks Elizabeth!

  17. fOIS In The CityMarch 23, 2013

    This came to me a day late, but not a thought short. I love that you have said what others might only think. There seems to be a trend to “establish” a presence on line, to social network through a variety of venues … and to put more work into networking than writing.

    I don’t know what I’ll do when the time comes and I have a publsihed book I’m suppose to help promote. But I mainly blog because I love it, Facebook to keep up with my grandchildren and think Twitter is like needeles in my eyes.

    The fact is that when we cocentrate on what’s important, most everything else falls into place. But this is the old adage of the cart before the horse. Thanks :)

  18. Elizabeth Spann Craig/Riley AdamsMarch 23, 2013

    Julie–It made things easier, didn’t it! Thanks for coming by.

    musesings–Interesting! I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re so right. If we’re focusing on social media and not writing, we’re still doing writing-*related* things…and that can be enough to convince ourselves that we’re devoting time to writing. But it’s not the creative outlet that most of us are really yearning for.

    I completely understand what you mean about being afraid of both failure *and* success. I think in some ways, I handle failure better than even my moderate success. Because any type of success sets up expectations.

    Blogging, in itself, can be an incredibly useful learning tool for writers. It helps us write for a deadline (of our own creation, but still), and helps us learn to write for an audience–and respond to an audience, too.

    Having a social media focus…whichever platform it is, whichever app, is important, isn’t it? Otherwise we run the risk of spreading ourselves too thin and burning out.

    It’s all good…the fanfic, the lame poetry, the short stories we write for ourselves, the random ideas we put in our idea folder. Just so important to create…especially when we’re trying to figure out *what* we want to write. And then later, too, when we need to experiment to keep from drying up creatively.

    Maya–You’re welcome!

    fOIS In The City–You make some important points–when we *do* branch into social media, pick what we enjoy doing. You enjoy Facebook and blogging because they help you connect to what and who are important to you. Life’s too short to spend time engaged on platforms that are unpleasant for us! And so true…the writing is just so much more important.

  19. Julia TomiakApril 2, 2013

    I’m a new writer- found this post via Jody Hedlund’s blog. Thanks to you and all of the people who commented. Time to let me enjoy my fiction and let social media take the place it deserves- because sometimes it just stresses me out!

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