You’ve probably heard this writing truism: “you have to write a million words of crap...” before, I guess, “...writing something worth reading.” Or maybe “...writing something worth publishing
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I thought about this recently. I have written more than a million words.
I can't and won't say that a person cannot be publishable much much sooner than that because of course they can be. I think the truism comes from a recognition that we most often learn by doing and with writing that means learning by writing. However, just because you type a million words doesn't mean you are learning anything - all it mean is that you are typing a lot. If, however, you have a strong intention to improve your level of craft and if you actively work at it then that million words becomes the exploration of technique and the development of skill. This won't make you a great writer but it will make your writing better. In a sense you will develop better grammar and probably a sense of voice. It won't give you better story ideas or glimmers of genius. It will make the story you are telling better written and let's face it - lots of novels are out there simply because the story they tell is told well.
I do think the writer's focus should not be on counting words but on finding their invisible elephants. Keep looking for your own weaknesses so that you can develop the tools to improve them - that seems like a fair goal to me.
I can't and won't say that a person cannot be publishable much much sooner than that because of course they can be. I think the truism comes from a recognition that we most often learn by doing and with writing that means learning by writing. However, just because you type a million words doesn't mean you are learning anything - all it mean is that you are typing a lot. If, however, you have a strong intention to improve your level of craft and if you actively work at it then that million words becomes the exploration of technique and the development of skill. This won't make you a great writer but it will make your writing better. In a sense you will develop better grammar and probably a sense of voice. It won't give you better story ideas or glimmers of genius. It will make the story you are telling better written and let's face it - lots of novels are out there simply because the story they tell is told well.
I do think the writer's focus should not be on counting words but on finding their invisible elephants. Keep looking for your own weaknesses so that you can develop the tools to improve them - that seems like a fair goal to me.
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Exactly!
My elephants are invisible, but they leave big footprints all over my pages...
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