Mystery writer and blogger Jean Henry Mead ran an interview Saturday with thriller writer Chris Grabenstein.
The entire interview was interesting (this is a guy who used to write for the Muppet Show…and I loved that show as a kid. And he’s written copy with James Patterson, back in the day.) but the snippet I’m pulling out below is something I thought was most interesting:
Keep writing every day. And–this was the hardest advice I was ever given–decide whether you want to be a writer or to write the one book you have written and keep rewriting because you know it will be a best seller just as soon as people stop rejecting it. To be a writer means becoming someone who is constantly writing something new, not constantly reworking the same idea until someone buys it. Eventually, you need to put that first book away and move on to the second or third. Tilt a Whirl, my “first” book, was my fourth manuscript.
When I read this, I almost started clapping. Because I think some writers are so in love with one particular manuscript that they can’t move past it.
When the manuscript gets rejected, they revise it. They rework it and send it back out again. If it continues getting rejected, some writers will either continue reworking it and sending it out, or else give up completely.
That’s not to say that you should give up on this manuscript. You could continue revising and submitting it, but work on something else in the meantime.
A writer writes. It’s the most important part. If you’re using the past tense “I’ve written a book,” then you’re not continuing the process.
The second book might be even better. The second book might be just what the market needs at that particular time.
If you had one book in you, you’ve got another.
I know an author who put everything into one book. And it was a good book. After a lot of hard work, the book was actually even published by a well-known publisher. The sales were disappointing for the book, though, and the author was so discouraged that she decided to stop writing.
I just hated that. It is your choice to stop writing, but if you know you have talent, keep trying.
Try writing different types of books.
But keep stretching and challenging yourself. Keep writing.
Don’t pin it all on the one manuscript or book.
The other thing is, if that first book really is your masterpiece, you will be able to rewrite it much BETTER if you take the time to work on other things before you come back to it.
No matter how good it is, nothing will improve it like experience and perspective.
I guess it depends why you are writing. If you only want to tell the one story then that is what you should spend your time revising. If you want to be a writer then you need to continue to expand and grow.
Thanks for an interesting post.
Elizabeth, I write every day – nearly. I don’t *think* I am so in love with one piece of work that I would stall my writing if it were rejected. But we do love our characters and their problems. :)
The way we get better as writers is to write.
Elizabeth – I couldn’t agree more with this sentiment. That’s what we writers do – we write. And then we write some more. So writing every day is a part of that. It’s actually quite a lot like something I once heard Billy Joel say about musical artists. Keep working; keep writing (in his case it was music); take whatever gig you can get and just keep doing it. I think that applies to writing, too.
If a writer can put away that first manuscript and do a second that is different, when they come back to their first they will probably have a little different outlook that could make all the difference.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Very inspirational! :)
It’s always a good idea to keep working on new projects while your original gets tweaked. One thing I find helps if I get frustrated with a story is to set it aside for a few weeks or a few months. I work on something else, occasionally completely unrelated in subject. When I get back to Story A, my eyes have found a new way to approach it. My mind discovers the answer to problems I didn’t know existed.
Jan’s analogy to the short-order cook is a good one. Occupying yourself with many projects keeps you on your toes so you’re always thinking, always creating.
Great reminder that the important definition of a writer is one who writes.
And just like any good exercise, the more one practices the better and better one gets.
I’ve got a few practice novels safely stowed under my bed where they pose no threat to society. Keep On Writing!
OK, so it’s a bit depressing first thing in the morning to have someone say they loved the Muppet Show AS A KID. I loved it too, but watched it WITH MY KIDS!
Then again, one of those kids is bringing my grandson up for his first visit to “Gram’s” house, so that’s a good think.
Writers write — and I’ve tangentially touched this topic at my blog, so we’re drifting together again. I’d written two more manuscripts before I sold my first–and it bore only a slight resemblance to the first draft.
Excellent quote, Elizabeth! :) In one of my writing groups, we have a quest for a million words. The thought is that once you reach a million words, you’ve sat at the keyboard consistently and productively. (I’m a little over a third of the way.)
Write on!
I love love love this post, elizabeth. It is so what I needed to hear right now.
Karen
Yepper, Elizabeth. Writers write. Simple. I always thought first novels were like pancakes – I mean how do you learn to write a novel except by writing one? I just finished the first draft of a novel. It was the second one I started and I finished one more inbetween it and the first because I really didn’t want to muck it up and I knew I wasn’t quite there yet. Now for the fun part! I’m spending the next two or three days tinkering and then I’m putting it away to cure for a couple of weeks. When it is curing I’ll go back to the fourth book which is half-done. When I was a short-order cook I knew how to get several orders going and attend to them all. I had to. That skill is transferable!
I had a hard time committing over the years but once I realized I had no honest excuse I couldn’t stop. I carry a composition book everywhere. And the best part — I’m lovin’ every minute.
Maribeth
Giggles and Guns
Very good advice – and from someone who really knows the business. You are an example of someone who works hard and has the success to show for it.
Helen
Straight From Hel
I adored the Muppet Show – my kids watched it on DVD. I think being able to put that first manuscript away takes immense discipline, but sometimes it’s worth it. The freedom of working on a new project can inspire all types of ideas, not to mention (sometimes) better writing!
Oh how I needed this. I have a completed ms that I am in love with, I know it’s good, I’m just not so sure it’s ready to be submitted. But I hold off starting anything new. I dabble in a few words here and there but nothing committed. Thank you for this :)
Jen
Now that IS sound advice!
And I loved the Muppet Show.
He worked with Patterson and the Muppets? Odd combination!
The Daring Novelist–I’m thinking that’s what Grisham did with “A Time to Kill,” didn’t he? He became a success with “The Firm,” which was his “first book” but he revised his actual first book (which…didn’t he self-publish?) and then it was published after his huge success. I think “Time to Kill” was really the book he LOVED…but he kept on writing and came up with a break-out novel by telling a different story.
Cassandra–That’s true, too. Some folks just want to share a family history with a few others, or create a family cookbook to preserve recipes from multiple generations. But I think of those writers in slightly different terms. I think most writers NEED to write and they feel that call.
Jan–The perfect metaphor! And we can apply what we’ve learned from making hashbrowns to our other menu items.
Teresa–It’s very natural. But then we can just come back and revisit them later, after we’ve tried some other things. I think the characters are always there, too. Even if there’s not a current market for them in the Big World, they stay with us.
Margot–Considering he’s been steadily *working* for ages and trying new sounds and techniques…I think those are sound words.
Mason–It’s amazing what jumps out at you when you come back to it!
Zaelyna– Very true! Taking a step back from a project to work on something completely different, then returning to the project with fresh eyes…it can make all the different in a ms.
Marisa–Practice helps a TON with writing. We’ll only get better.
Maribeth–That’s another good point…it’s what we *enjoy* doing. Submitting, getting rejected, revising, resubmitting…those are some of the more depressing sides of the job. It’s great to offput that by indulging in the creative side. And carrying a comp notebook around is a great way to encourage it every day, for sure.
Helen–Thanks! You are, too!
Alan–I’m with you on that one! Maybe we should destroy them so our enterprising offspring won’t try to release them upon our demise…
Terry–Ha! Well, I’d be depressed because my kids have no idea what the Muppet Show even IS. Sigh.
I have a manuscript graveyard. :) Those things never need to see the light of day, but they helped me out so much in terms of practice and voice. Have fun being Gram!
Stacy–That is so cool! I’m thinking that I’m about halfway through that number…at least as far as manuscripts go.
Diane–Me too. :) It scared me sometimes, though…
Alex–Which I think goes to show that we should just consider whatever opportunities come our way! I met him briefly at Malice before the banquet…interesting guy. And he won the Agatha Award for Best Children’s/Ya for “The Hanging Hill” (Random House).
Until I joined my writing group, I never ventured past my mystery writing bubble but in the past two years, two of my short stories have been picked up for publication and I’ve even written two non-mystery books. Keep writing and keep challenging yourself. Good points.
CD
Loved that quote! This is such an inspirational post. I think the reason so many writers publish their fourth, fifth, sixth, or even seventh manuscripts is because they’ve become better writers. I notice with my favorite authors that their *writing* just becomes better and better with each publication. Their unpublished early manuscripts probably are good stories but the writing needed improvement. Thanks for this excellent dose of encouragement!!!
Really good advice!
And if you can´t sell stories in one language, you can always try another one ;D
Count me as another Muppet Show lover! Though I find it difficult to know when to quit one project and move on to another, it is sound advice. I also like the feeling of new plots and characters occupying my mind.
Karen–I’m so glad! And I’m so glad things are going well with your WiP!
Clarissa–That’s *really* nice. So you’ve even delved into writing different genres, not just new projects.
Laura–I’ve noticed the same thing! Unless they’ve had to rush out a manuscript (in which case it’s NOT very good), then each time the books have been a little more complex, a little more interesting.
Elspeth–I think you’re right about the discipline. It’s really hard. And we’re emotionally invested in it…so it’s almost better to just go ahead and climb back on the horse and get invested in something completely new and different.
Jen–And that’s probably when it’s the hardest to put a manuscript down and start something else–when you know it’s good. But we’re limiting ourselves if we put it all into that one manuscript and don’t give ourselves a chance to write something even better…or, maybe, JUST as good, but more marketable.
Jane–I’ve even found that when I move on to a new project, I get fresh ideas for the old one and jot them down for when I can get back to it. :)
It’s funny–I see a fair amount of this–I think some people actually are trying to write a life or fantasy THEY want and have had for so long that they are really attached to it. And in the MIDDLE of book 1, I can totally see how it has to be your only vision, or you get scattered and may never finish.
But one thing I’ve DEFINITELY learned, having moved past that–writing my other books has given me new perspective on that first–I have insight on what was probably wrong with it. I will revise it and resend it, but it is now in a stack with FIVE books, so the attachment isn’t so urgent, and I’m not afraid to make changes like I once was.
This is such an important post and a great lesson. It’s definitely going in our Friday round-up of articles no writer should miss!
All good advice, although I have pinned it all on one MS. For now at least. But I do have a few more drafted and in the pipeline. I just need the time to finish them.
Stephen Tremp
Great post Elizabeth. It’s so hard to let go of something we’ve created – something we’ve worked so hard on. I’ve got one ms marinating. I’m going to look it over in the summer to see if it’s worth working over again. I’ll keep this post in mind!
This is exactly what I needed to read right now. Thank you!
Hart–I think you’re right. They don’t realize they’re not giving up the dream, they’re just approaching the industry by writing a variety of different books–and hopefully one of them will be the right one for the market at that time.
I feel the same way about my first book (Dyeing Shame). There are definitely some changes in the book that I’d want to make if I re-released it on Kindle or something.
Adventures in Children’s Publishing–Thanks so much! :)
Stephen–Time is always an issue, isn’t it? I’d like to sign up for 48 hour days. :)
Dorte–And good luck to you! Makes me think about ABBA–deciding to write and sing in English since Swedish was sort of a closed market.
Jemi–It IS hard…and it doesn’t have to be forever. We can trot it out and keep submitting it, no matter where we are in the process. :)
Good luck with it, Kristen!
Excellent advice! It was so hard giving up on my first manuscript (and my second, but I plan to revise that one). But it was also freeing. I feel that I can write on almost any topic now, and the more manuscripts I have under my belt, the more I feel like a writer.
Lorel–And I think it’s more fun, too…more challenges, more ways to exercise our imaginations!