j mark miller | a writer's fantasy

Writers, Just Write

There’s an old adage that says “Quality over quantity.” I suppose this applies to writing as well, or does it?

There’s a related adage that says, “Practice makes perfect.”

Well, no, not really, because if you’re practicing incorrectly you’ll never become perfect. But, if you’re practicing with a mind focus toward improvement, using a work ethic that pushes you to create a better end result, then yes, you’re on the way toward possible perfection.

Sometimes we read about overnight successes and wonder why that hasn’t happened to us. An author submits their first novel and it’s accepted right away, or rockets to the top of the sales lists.

What we fail to recognize is how many years it took them to get the book done in the first place. How many books did they write and never submit? How many story ideas ended up in the trash? How many times did they rewrite every single scene in that “overnight success” book?

Write, Write, Write

I submit to you that authors need to simply buckle down and write.

Finished a novel? Write another one. Submitted a novel? Good for you, now get back to writing.

There seems to be a critical mass a writer needs to develop. It’s not true in every single case, but so often you find out that a writer has been slogging away in obscurity for years before they make their first sale. It’s akin to Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule from his book Outliers. The idea that you need to put in your time to become an expert at something, and then you need to put in even more time to become phenomenal.

Here are some anecdotes that spring to mind.

  • Ray Bradbury once wrote an essay about how he got rejected 500 times before he got his first acceptance.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien created entire languages, cultures, and a world before writing the Lord of the Rings. He produced ream after ream after ream of notes, history, and character development.
  • Isaac Asimov once said that a writer needs about a million words of prose under his belt before he’s ready to be published.
  • I met a young man at a recent writing workshop who’d never written anything before five years ago. Since then, he’s written over 1.4 million words.
  • Robert Silverberg once said that he once wrote about a million words per year.

Now, you can say that most of the examples above are the cream of the crop type author. I would agree. However, the point is these authors produced and kept on producing.

Was everything they wrote worth publishing? Nope. I’m pretty sure each of these authors produced more unpublished works than published. They understood that a writer’s job is to write. Sure, times have changed, and we’re told we need to worry about marketing, and creating a buzz through social networks (an idea that J.A. Konrath might take exception to), but our real job is to write.

The more you write, the better you’ll get. Those millions of words will have a cumulative affect as we work on honing our craft. Every story will be a little better than the ones before. Each chapter more coherent. Each paragraph more pointed. Each sentence tighter.

Have you crafted a million words? What are you waiting for?

Related

Comments

comments

Filed Under: The Writing Life

About J. Mark Miller

J. mark Miller is an author, musician, blogger, speaker, and financial coach who lives in North Texas with his wife, three children, three felines, and several Apple devices. His favorite authors include Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Silverberg, Isaac Asimov, and Steven Erikson.

Book Progress

Flaming_Sun_Medallion
Rise of the Sun King
Phase:Serializing
4%
il_570xN.330327510
Bitter Water
Phase:First Draft
90.1%
story-seeds-03
250 Story Seeds
Phase:First Draft
56%

Available Series

Categories

  • Fantasy (13)
  • Flash Fiction (1)
  • Non-Fiction (1)
  • Science Fiction (10)
  • Serials (22)
    • A Verdant and Capricious Moon (10)
    • Rise of the Sun King (12)
  • The Writing Life (7)

My Books

The Foundlings

The Foundlings
The world’s only hope is in a prophecy hardly anyone believes in. The Foundlings is the beginning chapter in the epic Swords of Xigara trilogy—a coming-of-age story full of peril, intrigue, and discovery. Follow these adventurers as they strive against impossible odds to save their world—a world that may not want to be saved. More info →
Buy from Amazon

Behind the Hidden Places

Behind the Hidden Places
Behind the Hidden Places is an anthology of science fiction and fantasy short stories interspersed with free verse and true-to-life stories. Travel to the universe found just next door or found across the vast reaches of the multiverse. Discover, cherish, lose, and regain true love. Find a cure for cancer. Honor the fallen. Delve into the genesis of artificial intelligence. All within the pages of Behind the Hidden Places. More info →
Buy from Amazon

The Road to Awesome

The Road to Awesome
Upgrade your finances, work, home, community, and faith! Get passionate, work hard, sacrifice, be faithful, and get the results you want out of life. Get on The Road to Awesome. More info →
Buy from Amazon

J. Mark Miller on Twitter

My Tweets

© 2018 j mark miller | a writer's fantasy. All rights reserved. Design by Five J's Design.