We’ve been looking at motivation in Craft Class, and one thing that is evident is that motivation is expressed in action. We all know this. We do not believe what people proclaim, we believe what they do. Self-analysis goes only so far, and the more it goes on, the less we rely on what we are hearing and the more we study our speaker for clues, for embodiment, for action.
This is true for us as writers, too. Don’t JUST daydream about your book. Daydreaming matters but it’s not enough. Sooner or later you have to mark up a page, mess up the vision, slosh through the hope, and slop attempt in its place. Oh glorious, shoddy start—so much smaller than the fantasy, BUT: real. And that counts for a lot, friends, does it not?
“The real writer is one who really writes,” Marge Piercy says in her wonderful poem, “For the Young Who Want To.”
Here are 3 ways to get yourself and your character in action TODAY! (Pick the ones that work or the ones that scare you, and just give them a try. Or reject these in favor of something that works better for you–but do it, try it, now.)
- Set a timer for ten minutes. Write about your character actually doing the one thing she is most terrified to do.
- Text a friend and let him know you’ll be writing for the next half hour and will text when you are finished to celebrate the work you’ve done. Write what your character does the day after s/he fails to achieve his/ her life dream. Hint: make sure s/he gets out of bed!
- Go to a café or the library (ah, the library!), do not connect to the internet, and sit down in front of laptop or notebook. Use the improve tecnnique of “yes, and . . . “ to keep your character seizing opportunities and building on them.
It’s easy to forget how much action we are all fired up to take when the stakes are high enough. If your character is sitting around (or flying around or driving around) thinking too much, ramp up the stakes—make it matter. What will push this character into action? Now make your own writing matter that much, too. Ramp up the stakes on your commitment to yourself, and then get thee to a desk and make things happen!
What fires you up? What gets you to write, whether you feel like it or not? What gets your characters taking action? How about you?