Structure from the beginning, flow to the end
I have never had a very structured or organized mind. Thoughts, memories, inclinations all meld together and bounce off each other whenever I hit a bump in the road. The consequences can be messy.
It always takes me longer to do things than it should. I always get lost trying to find somewhere new. The story usually gets confused and me right along with it.
My partner has been trying to teach me how to get organized for years.
When I broke the news that I was going to put all my energy into writing a novel Mark suggested that maybe now would be a good time to clean out the attic and put up some shelving.
After a little digging I was pretty sure that with the right structure, writing a novel can actually be pretty easy. But where to begin. The problem with being disorganized is the anxiety that comes with making a decision and sticking to it.
Earnest Hemingway said:
“don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it.”
Yet I still agonized over the rigid rules I knew I would have to set for myself.
Where to begin? Where to end?
Dustin Lance (Oscar-winning screenwriter of Milk, J. Edgar) says that finding the moments that are essential to telling of a story begins when the writer lands on a pure and singular idea.
From here Lance places every idea onto a card. Hundreds of moments are boiled down to an essential framework. From here the writer reconstructs the story from the every begining.
“I want to be able to move all the pieces around. I want to make a film and a film is not what happens, it is an impression of something happening.”
How to embrace structure
There is no easy way to say it, I am a stubborn mule. Yet for some reason I have moved completely effortlessly into the framework of this novel. Layers are unfolding within layers and each one made more clearer than the last. It is coming together and when it doesn’t it is because I know that I am about to touch upon something more fundamental.
- Be Fearless: I may hate myself for what I think I am about to become but I am here because I have to be. Fluidity as a writer will only take you, and the story, so far. Doing, and being, something a little different will help the story come to life.
- Be lonesome: I may want to invite my friends and family inside but the house it not complete yet. Only I dwell here and here I will remain until the work is completed. loneliness is all the solace I need. When the story is ready it will be read.
- Be unforgiving: I may have to say and do things others won’t even begin to understand. It is not apart of the writers job to be every nuance of their story. It is only apart of your truth and I may not even know what it is until it is too late. Fall into the structure and let it protect you from judgement and misgivings.
