Resistance is Futile (But We Try Anyway)
A Writer's Tale of Structure, Freedom, and 3 AM Epiphanies
Ever found yourself wide awake at 3:30 AM, brain buzzing with a new writing experiment? Well, that's exactly where I am right now, so I thought I'd share the latest twist in my creative journey with you lovely lot.
My AI assistants suggest outlines, topics, or subtleties I hadn’t considered. The actual writing is all human me. It’s fun seeing how the different Gen AI models sometimes give contradictory advice. I ignore most of it anyway.
A Nocturnal Brainwave
Welcome back to The Everyday Solopreneur newsletter! It's the wee hours of Saturday, June 29, and here I am, tapping away at my keyboard. Why, you ask? I woke up with my mind racing about a new article-writing method I've been mulling over. Try as I might, sleep wasn't happening, so I figured I'd get up and give it a whirl.
So, what's this grand experiment? It's a bit of a shake-up from my usual routine. First off, I scribble a rough outline in my notebook. Now, fair warning – my handwriting's not exactly calligraphy. It's more like a doctor's prescription after a heavy night out. I briefly worried about deciphering it later, but then I thought, "Eh, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Next up, I use this chicken-scratch outline as a loose script for dictation. I fire up Otter.ai and start chatting away. Turns out, my scrawls were more legible than I gave them credit for – the words flowed like a charm. And get this – the exported transcript hit over a thousand words! Talk about a head start for the newsletter.
Breaking Imaginary Chains
Lately, I've been diving deep into the Story Grid method for creative writing. I won't bore you with the nitty-gritty again (if you're curious, check out my previous article.)
I've been obsessing over making sure my fiction writing ticks all the boxes – you know, following the five commandments and whatnot. But I think I was getting a bit too hung up on the mechanics of it all.
I mean, we've got beats making up scenes, scenes forming sequences, and sequences building the Beginning Hook, Middle Build, and Ending Payoff. Oh, and don't forget the Acts! But something was nagging at me – where do chapters fit into all this?
It was driving me bonkers for a while, but then I realized – I was worrying about nothing. Worse yet, I was procrastinating again (more on that later, folks).
Some writers, like James Patterson, make each scene a chapter. Others, like Alastair Reynolds, bunch several scenes into a single chapter. And then it hit me – isn't that basically what a sequence is?
The point is, I shouldn't have been so fixated on the structure, especially not at this early stage. I've got all the building blocks I need; the rest can come later. Time to stop putting off the actual writing and just dive in. I'll start... tomorrow. (Just kidding!)
Time Tetris
Even though I'm juggling a day job, I've managed to wrangle my work week down from five days to four. That leaves Friday through Sunday as my designated writing time. I'm running a little experiment to figure out a sustainable writing routine.
Usually, Fridays are reserved for business admin stuff. But for now, I'm only tackling the urgent bits, like sending out invoices. I've blocked out three days for writing because, let's face it, life has a way of eating into that time. Family commitments, household chores, birthdays, weekend trips – you name it, it'll pop up.
This week, my day job threw me a curveball. I'd fallen behind on some responsibilities, and other work priorities had taken precedence. It wasn't anyone's fault – just the nature of the beast. So, Friday got hijacked by the day job. But hey, it's money in the bank, right?
The silver lining? I didn't check work email or open Teams, which meant zero distractions. I plowed through eight solid hours of catch-up work, ticking off tasks and promises to clients. Satisfying? Absolutely. Writing progress? Not so much.
The Creativity Spectrum
I've been pondering the different levels of creative freedom lately. Many creative tasks come with their own set of rules and conventions. Take my day job in IT, for instance. It requires a fair bit of creativity but within strict boundaries.
As a developer (which I suppose I still am, to some extent), you need solid creativity, but it must all be done within a framework of rules and logic.
Writing non-fiction is the next rung up the creative freedom ladder. There's more wiggle room, but you've still got to stick to the subject matter. No wandering off into la-la land allowed!
This newsletter? It's similar, but with a bit more leeway. I've got a subject to stick to, but I can (and do) go off on tangents. It's my newsletter, after all. My editor might grumble that it's a bit disjointed, but hey – it's getting stuff off my chest. Maybe you're into it, maybe you're not. Either way, I'm having fun.
And then there's fiction writing – the holy grail of creative freedom. We can let our hair down (if we've got any left) and let our minds run wild. It's a blast!
The escapism you find in a good book is the same thrill we get from writing fiction. Even us plotters get surprised by what happens when we're in the zone. It's like our characters have minds of their own.
Battling the Procrastination Monster
Sometimes, I stress myself out because I think I'm not making progress on my book. But you know what? It's just procrastination in disguise.
I keep putting it off, but I'm sneaky about it. I convince myself that I need to get the organization just right, or that it needs a few more tweaks. Or I'm about to start writing, but wait – I need coffee first. Then, a shiny new toy catches my eye. "Ooh, could I use this for writing?" Anything and everything except actually sitting down and writing the damn thing.
But I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I keep chipping away at this barrier. What does Steven Pressfield call it? Resistance. Speaking of which, I just bought his book "The War of Art." Don't get me wrong – the ideas in it are solid. But for a small paperback with loads of white space and maybe 20-25,000 words? That's only 20 newsletters like this one. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Final Thoughts
Anyway, that's my writer's journey for now. Remember, we're all in this creative struggle together. Keep pushing, keep writing, and who knows? Maybe next time you wake up at 3:30 AM, it'll be with the perfect plot twist for your masterpiece.
Until next time, happy writing!
Hopefully, you enjoyed this post. If you want to say ‘thank you, ‘ the best way is to get involved in the comments. And my promise to you…If you get in touch, I will answer! So comment away… (a subscription is also nice)