Do writers need to feel ready before they begin a new project?
I want to know what you think, especially if you consider yourself either a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’! Participate in today’s poll and join this week’s new Dialoguers chat so we can discuss.
July Theme: Creative Courage
Big Question: What does it take to begin, risk, and share what you create?
Week 1: Beginning Before You Feel Ready
This month, we’re thinking about and discussing the creative courage it takes to begin a new project or practice and the risks doing those things entails, especially when it comes time to share what we create.
And since this is the first week that we’re kicking off prompts, reflections, and discussions centered around creative courage, we’re focusing on beginnings— primarily, what it means to begin before you feel ready, and if that is even possible or advisable.
Today’s question is at the heart of discussing creative courage because it motivates us, as creators, to reflect on and identify those moments and processes that signify we’re ready to begin a project, as well as those things that might be holding us back from beginning new projects time and time again.
Whether you’re starting a new project today, next week, or next year, this dialogue will uncover invaluable insights into what makes you feel ready to begin a new project, and what you can do about those things that get in your way when you want to begin a new project but find yourself stuck.
Consider today’s question, respond to the poll, then let us know what you think in the Dialoguers chat. There are no strict right or wrong answers, only those answers that will help us better understand creative courage and how we want to leverage it.
Drafting this Dialogue
YES Preparation creates better work.
If your initial response to today’s question is ‘yes,’ you might be what is commonly known as a ‘plotter,’ or a writer who prefers to research and outline a story or project in advance before they start drafting it. And you probably do this because you feel it saves you time when you finally sit down to write or revise your project, as you’ll already have the general structure and essence of your project figured out well before you start drafting it. Which may also prevent you from encountering writer’s block or fearing the ‘messy middle’ of your project since you’ll always know what comes next.
You may also find yourself strongly identifying with one or more of the following statements:
“If you do enough planning before you start to write, there’s no way you can have writer’s block.” — R.L. Stine
“Fail to plan, plan to fail.”
“I used to write down ideas in notebooks... then I would plan the outline of the plot carefully.” — Agatha Christie
“Structure does not restrict creativity; it focuses it.”
“When I sit down to write page one of the book, I already know everything that’s going to happen.” — Ken Follett
“Fix structural problems in the outline, not in the first draft.”
To engage in further dialogue, ask:
In what ways has being fully prepared for a project helped me? And in what ways has it hindered me?
Does preparation tend to lead to more creative breakthroughs, or more creative ways to procrastinate?
Has there ever been a time when preparing for a project limited my spontaneity or ability to be surprised while working on that project? And if so, was that a bad or good thing?
How do I know when I am officially prepared enough to start writing?
In what ways might preparing for a project hinder or assist my creative courage overall?
NO Starting is how we become ready.
If your initial response to today’s question is ‘no,’ you might be what is commonly known as a ‘pantser,’ or a writer who dives into a new project with little to no preparation or outline. You probably enjoy the discovery process of writing the most. You likely enjoy seeing what plot twists reveal themselves as you write and learning about your characters and what they are going to do next as you are writing them and their worlds into existence. And this ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ approach is likely fun and engaging, often allowing you to get lost in the flow of writing thousands of words in one sitting.
You may also find yourself strongly identifying with one or more of the following statements:
“Writing was exciting because I never planned ahead. I made up my stories as I went along and it was a great deal like reading a book I hadn’t written.” — Isaac Asimov
“Characters should dictate the plot.”
“First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!” — Ray Bradbury
“Writing without a map isn’t haphazard, it’s discovery.”
“Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.” — Sylvia Plath
“Writing myself into a corner is part of the process.”
To engage in further dialogue, ask:
In what ways has little to no preparation for a project helped me? And in what ways has it hindered me?
Does my discovery process tend to lead to more plot twists, or more plot holes?
Has there ever been a time when improvising what I wrote negatively impacted my ability to follow the path of what I was writing, or revise and edit what I wrote?
How do I know when what I am writing is taking the shape of a cohesive story and narrative?
In what ways might unstructured writing hinder or assist my creative courage overall?
Reflection
Typically, if an idea won’t leave me alone, I know it’s worth sitting down and sorting through and organizing or researching further. Over the years, I have learned that a hybrid approach to the above approaches (plotting + pantsing) is typically best— I tend to create a loose, bullet point outline with sections that I use or lose as I draft my first and second drafts. And I have a feeling this might be the case for most writers, but could be wrong?
I also think that a writer’s preferred approach, and how prepared they need to be to start a project, likely depends on what they’re writing. Many dense, literary novels and nonfiction works seem impossible to achieve without structures and outlines, while many thrillers seem to necessitate more improvisation as they’re being written. But I’m curious about what you think!
More than that, I want to go deeper with the question about what it means to feel ‘ready’ to begin a creative project. It seems emotional blockages are more likely to get in our way of starting projects than intellectual ones. Creating outlines and first drafts can help ideas take shape, in other words, but can they help us get past those things that are making us feel far less courageous than we want to feel as we begin new creative endeavors?
An Invitation
Join this week’s dedicated Dialoguers chat to discuss this topic further as we continue to explore creative courage this month. I’d love to hear what you think and how you’re drafting this ongoing dialogue too, so we have a much richer and more meaningful discussion.
Your thoughtful contributions in the chat could also end up in Thursday’s follow-up post, which will offer an expanded discussion of this topic, and notes on how understanding it better can help your creative courage, as well as your fellow creatives. I can’t wait to get this conversation started!
Please familiarize yourself with the Community Chat Guidelines.
Continue Exploring July’s Creative Courage Theme
ICYMI—>This week’s Posts: Beginning Before You Feel Ready
Beginning Before You Feel Ready: Writing Prompts
Also, consider going more in depth with this month’s theme with July’s Creative Courage Writing Collection.
The writing collection is designed to help you explore creative courage from different angles: discovering your voice, strengthening your craft, experimenting with new approaches, and reflecting on the writer you are becoming.
The free Drafts and Dialogues posts that will be published this month will explore the outward side of creative courage—beginning, risking, and sharing— and should complement this collection quite well, which invites you to go much deeper into the internal work of creativity with 30 guided writing prompts and craft exercises, reflections, as well as three options for guided monthly writing challenges for those who want to go even further than that.