For Crying Out Loud, Just Write

July 1, 2014 Michelle Griep

This Longhorn Cowfish has absolutely nothing to do
with today's post.

"Sometimes you have to write to figure it out…This advice isn't just savvy guidance for how to write — it might be the wisest advice I know for how to live… Sometimes, the only way to discover who you are or what life you should lead is to do less planning and more living — to burst the double bubble of comfort and convention and just do stuff, even if you don't know precisely where it's going to lead, because you don't know precisely where it's going to lead."

~ Daniel Pink

Planning things out to the Nth degree can flatten you faster than a head on collision with a Mack Truck. Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you shouldn't have some idea in mind before you start writing a novel or a blog entry or whatever. I'm just saying you don't need every detail nailed down before you begin. Why?

~ You might miss out on some great secondary characters who frequently pop in unexpectedly.

~ You won't be able to add in that new fact you discovered that might take the plot in a different direction.

~ You never know when a brilliant bit of inspiration might ooze out when you're squished to figure out what happens next.

So go ahead and write a synopsis, but don't fret over fine tuning it. Allow yourself some wiggle room. The most important thing is to just write.