Photo from Dusty's website
On Saturday, Dusty Richards spoke at our Saturday Writers Meeting. Author of nearly 100 western genre novels, Dusty knows a thing or two on writing about critters. After all, what's a cowboy without a horse? Dusty attends rodeos, races, and all things "horsey" to help him create a true portrait of the animals and people who were part of the Old West.
He had a lot of terrific advice for us, but what stuck with me most was his emphatic recommendation on writing a book.
Just write it. From beginning to end. Don't edit. Don't go back and reread. Get the entire thing down on paper. Dusty says if you allow yourself to keep rewriting while the work's in progress, writers (especially new ones) are likely to become discouraged and never finish the manuscript. However, once you've actually completed your entire story, things change. You are now committed to it. You've written your book! Then comes the time to go back and start revising and polishing what you've written to make YOUR BOOK the best it can be.
He couldn't be more correct. How many of us start writing a book but never, ever finish it? We're too busy putting up roadblocks and using excuses that prevent our success. It's certain that Dusty's formula has worked well for him.
So here's my new plan. I'm going to gather all my notes and start...no, I mean FINISH, a novel.
Care to join me?
2 comments:
You know what, I absolutely agree with Dusty Richards. I read somewhere that the best thing to do when you felt you were blocked or that your writing wasn't going well was to keep on writing. I have done this, even when I have known that I would probably go back and completely edit what I had written. At least getting it down, means there is something there to edit.
What great advice! You know, I'm a good one for inventing excuses! I just have to sit down and just write..Thanks for this timely advice!
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