Is 'Just write it' ALWAYS good advice?

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Hamilton

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Something is always better than nothing, and procrastinating is a huge problem for lots of writers. There are people who need to be told to stop fretting and dive in.

But sometimes I think this advice is given too quickly to people who are having trouble in the conception or planning stages of their work. "Just write it" has a very pantser bias. Sure, actually getting started on the writing produces something concrete. But if a plotter is prompted to start the writing process earlier than they're comfortable with, isn't it possible that they'll run into more frustrations and potential discouragements than necessary?

The brainstorming/worldbuilding/outlining processes can be very important for some kinds of writers. The "just write it" line should only be given when it's clear the writer's planning is getting in the way of their writing instead of facilitating it.
 

quicklime

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"Just write it" has a very pantser bias. Sure, actually getting started on the writing produces something concrete. But if a plotter is prompted to start the writing process earlier than they're comfortable with, isn't it possible that they'll run into more frustrations and potential discouragements than necessary?

The brainstorming/worldbuilding/outlining processes can be very important for some kinds of writers. The "just write it" line should only be given when it's clear the writer's planning is getting in the way of their writing instead of facilitating it.

and have you actually seen this happen? Because "just write the damn story" has, in my experience, usually come after six threads in a day, or ten in a week, from a writer who would probably at that point do better by actually trying things out than indulging paralysis by analysis. Obviously sometimes you're better having a clue where you're going, but I don't think the advice is given here to fuel some pantser bias at all. It is to kick someone in the ass who is in desperate need of it, even if just to start actually forcing an analysis of their plots.
 

Cyia

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Just write CAN be a form of plotting. Writing out what you've got in your mind, even if it's abstract or incomplete can work wonders. So can free writing.

Ex:

I know my characters are in a junkyard. A junkyard. Why are they in a junkyard? I don't know. What's in a junkyard? Junk. what kind of junk? paper, old diapers, leftovers, cars, smashed computers, scavenging dogs. Dogs... maybe they can be chased by dogs. They're looking for something in the junk yard, but it's on the other side of a pack of scavenging dogs! Even worse the MC has an irrational fear of dogs.

etc, etc, etc.

Writing produces writing. Not writing produces nothing.
 

benluby

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Just write it goes beyond sitting down at the keyboard and hammering out a story/book.
It also includes the planning phase for those that plot out the details, characters, even the locations in great detail.
The phrase is more of a comment on those who are always 'fixing to start' on their great novel. Just write it means get to work on it, regardless of the path one is going to take to complete it.
 

Cella

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I suppose the phrase could mean different things to different people.

Just write it to the person who only has vague notions of their plot wafting through their mind might really mean Just write a rough outline, whereas to the author who has been stewing over their fairly well developed ideas might just in fact be stalling on the actual MS for a combinations of reasons.

Like so many things, it's a matter of balance of thought and action.

:)
 

alleycat

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Very little writing advice is absolute. And often the shorthand type of advice needs expanding if someone is hearing it for the first time.

Show, don't tell. Generally good advice, but there are details that should just be explained.

Just write it! Often it's good advice for someone who continually plans rather than writes, but there is a place for planning and outlining for those who wish to use that method.
 

Filigree

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I politely disagree, Hamilton. Whether an author is suffering from procrastination, difficulty with plotting, or erratic pantser disasters, most of their problems can eventually be solved by writing - a lot, and often, until writing becomes a familiar activity. It's how most people figure out their writing style, and learn how to recognize the worthy efforts from the bad.

Sure, there is a place for abstract plotting. I write most of my scenes in my head before I ever sit down at the keyboard. But I had to learn how to do that through writing a lot of blunders.

Examine the argument from the perspective of new students at an art school. If they take any figure drawing classes, that means hundreds of charcoal and graphite sketches in the first weeks of class. The students don't have the luxury of pondering their approach; they're dumped in the deep end and told to draw what they see, fast and often. Accuracy isn't that much a concern at first, just teaching the eye and hand to work without conscious thought getting in the way. Most of those early efforts are crap. But the artists will get better with practice.
 

Kerosene

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The answer, "just write it," typically comes after a worry or concern from someone who just can't get to writing; they're either worldbuilding or plotting too much or doing character sheets or trying to test ideas and concepts.

Sure, plotting can do a lot. But I know of no one (other than very, very experienced writers) who have plotting a story and finished it in the very first draft without any need to improve or resort the plot. Those experience writers had the story stepped out, the characters planned, and ideas fully realized and had the utmost confidence in their writing and their ability to convey the story, and because of this, they could punch it out--they are also the people who don't need to be told to write, they just do it.

So, when the advice of, "just write it," comes along, just write it, because its needed to be repeated to someone who's not writing the story.


Think of it as eating something new and exotic. You can debate about eating it all day, but if you're ever going to taste it, you need to eat it. So, just eat it.
 

Hamilton

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and have you actually seen this happen? Because "just write the damn story" has, in my experience, usually come after six threads in a day, or ten in a week, from a writer who would probably at that point do better by actually trying things out than indulging paralysis by analysis.
Was just looking at a thread where the OP, who was anxious about being able to handle their project, stated they were working on a three part story involving three timelines, only one of which was fully completed. It was clear from their post that they were making steady progress in their planning, and intended to start writing later in the year.

They received a pile of replies urging them to just start writing, which they will be doing. Will it work out fine? Probably. But there was no attention paid to even the possibility that writing without a full plot outline might cause problems. No one considered that finishing those timelines might have put the OP at ease or given them a sense of confidence. It was just assumed that writing immediately was better than waiting until all the planning was done.


Cyia said:
Just write CAN be a form of plotting. Writing out what you've got in your mind, even if it's abstract or incomplete can work wonders. So can free writing.

Ex:

I know my characters are in a junkyard. A junkyard. Why are they in a junkyard? I don't know. What's in a junkyard? Junk. what kind of junk? paper, old diapers, leftovers, cars, smashed computers, scavenging dogs. Dogs... maybe they can be chased by dogs. They're looking for something in the junk yard, but it's on the other side of a pack of scavenging dogs! Even worse the MC has an irrational fear of dogs.

etc, etc, etc.

Writing produces writing. Not writing produces nothing.
Just because it CAN be a form of outlining doesn't mean it's the only form of outlining. Freewriting can't provide a color-coded chart of plots and sublots for a very visual writer, for example. And realistically, when most people say "just write", they aren't talking about brainstorming. They're talking about writing the actual novel/short story/screenplay/etc.

It's always said that plotting, pansting, and everything in-between is great as long as it works for the writer, but I get the impression that spending time outlining is often seen as "not really working on the book/script/etc."
 

quicklime

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i wouldn't assume nobody was worried about their confidence, Hamilton....sometimes, refusing to write so you can fiddle around is every bit as damaging. AND, I don't know the specific thread, but can think of several floating around in the past few weeks where what I said above holds true, and either they are asking questions to procrastinate, or because they're afraid to take that leap....and in either case, no, they really should JUST FREAKING WRITE because otherwise, they're not doing a damn thing. these aren't folks having their plotting interrupted.
 

AKyber36

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For that case with the three timelines, just writing also helps. While the writer may plan and plan and plan, plots do change once the process begins and a lot of times, those previous plans go out the window. I've had it happen to me on multiple occasions, and no amount of planning would've thrown me the new possibilities. Sometimes, characters take off on their own, opening up new avenues. Of course, to fully develop the characters so that they may initiate and carry the plot, one must write.

I write little short scenes when I'm stuck. As an artist, I also do full graphic novel pages beforehand to do a full visual + dialogue before putting it into words. The important thing is that something concrete - no matter how elementary - must start the story. Thinking about it only goes so far. Pencil, pen, or cursor to the blank page is always far better for answering a lot of plot and/or character questions.
 

Kitty27

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I am a diehard pantser.

I respect writers who have a different style,though. BUT there comes a time when a writer will have beautiful outlines,every plot fully developed,marvelous character descriptions yet not have a single word written.

Intricate plotting and developing ideas is fine. But it gets even better when you are also WRITING. Some writers aren't plotting. They are procrastinating out of fear or self doubt. I can usually tell the difference between the writers who just love a beautiful outline but still write vs. the ones who are doing nothing at all.

"Just Write It" is indeed good advice if you take the "just" out of it and apply that to writers who belong in the latter category. We aren't dissing their style of plotting. I think what most on this board mean is to actually write and not spend six months on an outline.
 

rwm4768

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Most of the time, it's good advice, but sometimes it isn't. A lot of people seem afraid to start writing, though. I know I have a tendency to pace back and forth for hours, trying to figure out plot points. I often do better if I sit down and just start writing.
 

OhTheHorror

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Whether an author is suffering from procrastination, difficulty with plotting, or erratic pantser disasters, most of their problems can eventually be solved by writing - a lot, and often, until writing becomes a familiar activity. It's how most people figure out their writing style, and learn how to recognize the worthy efforts from the bad.

smiley-signs011_zps15a57e27.gif
 

Aggy B.

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I like to outline things. But at some point you have to write the outline too. And I don't mean character bios or histories of the world, I mean the actual outline. (Which I always consider the "roughest" draft of the novel.)

"Just write it" is about working on the actual story, not all the filler stuff that is just a distraction, whether that story starts in a 10 page bulleted outline or an uber-messy first draft complete with notes to [FIX THIS LATER!!!].
 

Hamilton

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Filigree said:
I politely disagree, Hamilton. Whether an author is suffering from procrastination, difficulty with plotting, or erratic pantser disasters, most of their problems can eventually be solved by writing - a lot, and often, until writing becomes a familiar activity. It's how most people figure out their writing style, and learn how to recognize the worthy efforts from the bad.

Sure, there is a place for abstract plotting. I write most of my scenes in my head before I ever sit down at the keyboard. But I had to learn how to do that through writing a lot of blunders.

Examine the argument from the perspective of new students at an art school. If they take any figure drawing classes, that means hundreds of charcoal and graphite sketches in the first weeks of class. The students don't have the luxury of pondering their approach; they're dumped in the deep end and told to draw what they see, fast and often. Accuracy isn't that much a concern at first, just teaching the eye and hand to work without conscious thought getting in the way. Most of those early efforts are crap. But the artists will get better with practice.
I would disagree that one needs to learn the ability to plot through writing. Plotting is just planning with 'ot' instead of 'an'. Heck, learning how to plan properly could be a skill in and of itself.

It's true all problems can be fixed by just writing through them, but many problems could be prevented by prior planning. Yet, when a writer declares that knowing where their story is going would make it boring, no one feels the need to tell them they should just suck it up and plan first anyway. But no one has a problem telling a plotter to just get over their discomfort with pantsing and just do it anyway. All the supposed respect for different writers' methods goes out the window.

As someone taking art classes, I don't think the metaphor quite applies. Drawing requires one to work on a single image. Sketches are small, quick pieces designed for practice. A long piece of writing is more akin to a final project. Beginners class or not, you'd sure as hell better make thumbnail sketches and gather up a pile of references, or even scan your project and experiment in Photoshop. The bigger the project, the more planning is often done because of the time commitment.

Let me share my own experience, on my first large project. I was writing a script for what was supposed to be a romance. I really wanted to plan it out, but I was too overwhelmed by possibilities, figuring out cause and effect...ADHD driven indecisiveness. I just started writing, because focusing on one scene at a time was easier.

It ended with the love interest stabbing the main character with a pair of scissors and putting him in the hospital, and they somehow decided to stay together anyway. (Nothing's as romantic as domestic violence)

What did I learn?

"PLAN ALL YOUR THINGS, HAMILTON, CAUSE WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

i wouldn't assume nobody was worried about their confidence, Hamilton....sometimes, refusing to write so you can fiddle around is every bit as damaging. AND, I don't know the specific thread, but can think of several floating around in the past few weeks where what I said above holds true, and either they are asking questions to procrastinate, or because they're afraid to take that leap....and in either case, no, they really should JUST FREAKING WRITE because otherwise, they're not doing a damn thing. these aren't folks having their plotting interrupted.
Yes, sometimes refusing to write so you can fiddle around can be damaging. But sometimes refusing to write so you can fiddle around is called planning. I don't know what threads you're referring to, but the OP of the one I am talking about specifically mentioned what they had outlined, what was partially outlined, and when they expected to be done planning and ready to start writing. That doesn't look like needless procrastination; that looks like someone with a plan they're steadily working through.

And I do wonder, how do you know that the people in question are actually putting off writing? Some almost certainly are, but is it always clear?
 

Katrina S. Forest

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I've had disaster novels too, but I don't think planning would've helped them. I hadn't written novels before -- naturally, my first attempts weren't great. I plan more now than I used to, and it helps, but now I have a much stronger idea of what a polished novel looks like. I know what I'm planning towards, in other words. I don't think people giving the advice, "just write it" expect it to produce a solid novel on the first try. They do expect it to help the writer get over the fear that producing a bad novel is some sort of epic disaster when it's really just part of the learning process.

And like all advice, there are certainly times it doesn't apply. That's up to the person asking advice to discern.
 

Becky Black

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It definitely depends on the scenario. I'm definitely a plotter and planner, but even I will say "Just write it" if the writer is clearly using research, planning and worldbuilding as writing avoidance. (And I know all about that one. I did it for a long, long time.)

One the other hand, if it's a fresh and shiny new idea then "just write it" may not be the best advice. Not for me anyway. I remember back in 2007 having an idea in early summer, having this idea totally eat my brain for about three weeks, during which I wrote copious notes. Then it just stopped. If I'd jumped in and started writing I'd have been in big trouble at that point.

But as it was I let it bubble away on the back burner over the summer, wrote notes here and there as things came to me and eventually decided I wanted to do it for NaNoWriMo. October came and I started planning it and the story pretty much surfaced whole and ready to go.

During that time between the initial idea and creating an outline my unconscious had been working hard on it, building on what I'd come up with earlier, solving problems. And when it was time to write it, there it all was ready for me. I think of this period as putting the bread aside to rise before baking it. It really works better for me that way, most of the time.
 
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Jamesaritchie

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Something is always better than nothing, and procrastinating is a huge problem for lots of writers. There are people who need to be told to stop fretting and dive in.

But sometimes I think this advice is given too quickly to people who are having trouble in the conception or planning stages of their work. "Just write it" has a very pantser bias. Sure, actually getting started on the writing produces something concrete. But if a plotter is prompted to start the writing process earlier than they're comfortable with, isn't it possible that they'll run into more frustrations and potential discouragements than necessary?

The brainstorming/worldbuilding/outlining processes can be very important for some kinds of writers. The "just write it" line should only be given when it's clear the writer's planning is getting in the way of their writing instead of facilitating it.

If the writer isn't having problems, I doubt anyone will have an opportunity to say, "Just write it."
 

RichardGarfinkle

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Short answer: Sometimes Just Write It is completely wrong advice.

At different stages of work a story will need different things. Sometimes it needs to be written now, sometimes it needs research, sometimes it needs the writer to develop more skills or understanding.

To learn to write one must write. That does not mean that a particular story should be written right now.

It's taken me twenty years of writing, research, and thinking to be able to work on my WIP. Sometimes, Just Write It is absolutely wrong.
 

aikigypsy

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Short answer: Sometimes Just Write It is completely wrong advice.

At different stages of work a story will need different things. Sometimes it needs to be written now, sometimes it needs research, sometimes it needs the writer to develop more skills or understanding.

To learn to write one must write. That does not mean that a particular story should be written right now.

It's taken me twenty years of writing, research, and thinking to be able to work on my WIP. Sometimes, Just Write It is absolutely wrong.

I very much agree with this. To grow as a writer, you have to actually write... or read, or edit, or have other life experiences which feed into writing. Sometimes, that can mean putting a specific project on hold and working on something else, or digging into major research for a while (like working in a hospital if you're going to write medical dramas, or on a sailboat if you want to write the next great Age of Sail saga).
 

kkbe

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Short answer: Sometimes Just Write It is completely wrong advice.

At different stages of work a story will need different things. Sometimes it needs to be written now, sometimes it needs research, sometimes it needs the writer to develop more skills or understanding.

To learn to write one must write. That does not mean that a particular story should be written right now.

It's taken me twenty years of writing, research, and thinking to be able to work on my WIP. Sometimes, Just Write It is absolutely wrong.

Certainly, there are times when writing must take a back seat to other things like research, planning, going to Walmart. :)

But there are times when you're sitting there, fingers poised on the keyboard, looking at that blank screen. The cursor's blinking. You hesitate.

Two choices. What are you gonna do?
 

Putputt

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Certainly, there are times when writing must take a back seat to other things like research, planning, going to Walmart. :)

But there are times when you're sitting there, fingers poised on the keyboard, looking at that blank screen. The cursor's blinking. You hesitate.

Two choices. What are you gonna do?

Go on AW. :D
 

buz

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No declarative statement is always good advice.

And there is some responsibility on the part of the receiver of advice to evaluate it. Believing whatever you're told can be a risky way to go about life, particularly if said advice comes from people who don't know you that well. Some advice that is offered is not going to work for you and you do need to exercise some of your own judgment.

If you know you need to plan and you finish what you start, then plan.

I do think "just write it" is generally decent advice, because generally, people can easily get hung up on all the other stuff and have trouble getting the story out, particularly on the first try. And writing something is almost always a good learning experience, even if it doesn't lead anywhere.

But applying general advice to individual people doesn't always work all the time. ;)
 
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