We continue on with Guest Post May by welcoming Leigh
Covington to Motivation for Creation.
Leigh is known to be one of the most supportive bloggers on the web by
pretty much everyone who knows her. She
has a great sense of humor, which often finds its way into her blog posts. She also is an inspiration and her blog,
Leigh Covington, is one that I make sure to read every post.
I am so happy to have Leigh over to guest post, because I
know we’re in for a treat! Take it away,
Leigh!
Hey
Lara! Let me just begin by saying, “Thanks!” I’m so excited to be here today
and I appreciate the opportunity to share on your blog! You’re awesome, girl!
For
those of you who know me, you know that I like to keep my posts short and
sweet. I will try to stick with that today!
At
first I was so discouraged as to what to write about, but while I was at my
latest conference, something hit me and I knew that’s what I wanted to post
about. It’s simple really, but there are a few points I want you to think of.
(Bits
of this are taken from Kevin J. Anderson’s talk on 11 Tips to Increase Your
Writing Productivity.)
Know the
Difference Between Writing & Editing
Or
better said… Know when to write and when to edit! Okay, we all talk about
wanting to shut off our inner editor, but guess what? It really does delay the
process. Anderson has written over 50 books! I think he knows what he’s talking
about so I think it’s important to listen to what he has to say.
Here
are a few points that he made.
1. You’re using different parts
of your brain!
Yeah, we use one part to write
and another to edit. Why complicate thing by switching back and forth?
2. Use your writing momentum!
This totally makes sense,
right? Don’t slow down when you’re on a roll. Don’t move back while you’re
moving forward! Kevin J. Anderson
While
he was talking about this… something from the movie, Finding Forrester came to
mind. It’s short and awesome to watch, so take a second to check it out. I
promise you won’t regret it!
This
is one of my favorite parts of the whole movie! But listen…
“You
write the first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head.”
Doesn’t
that make sense to you? It does to me. I don’t think we should slow the
momentum of our writing because that is what’s coming from our heart. Let your
brain work out the details later.
I
think you’ll find you like your stories better and you’re getting more
accomplished!
Thanks
again Lara! And thanks everyone for checking this out.
What is your
opinion on this? Agree or disagree?
To get more of Leigh, hop on over to her blog, or follower her on twitter at @LeighCovington.
What a great post. Sometimes we forget to let it flow and that we can come back and tidy things up after. :o)
ReplyDeleteMakes sense to me! I do better if I just plow ahead with the first draft and edit after I finish. Good advice, Leigh!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with this. I'll sometimes back up and change a grammar or spelling issue, but when I'm writing it doesn't have to be perfect for me to go on. I know a scene isn't working quite right, but I'll keep going. I'm definitely not a perfectionist and can leave those flaws until later.
ReplyDeleteSuch great points Leigh! Kevin is awesome and inspiring so you know if it's coming from him it's got to mean something.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me be here Lara! I love it! So much fun! I'll be back to read everyone's comments!
ReplyDeleteWonderful advice! I missed Kevin's class, so it's great to hear what he had to say. Thanks, Leigh!
ReplyDeleteYou beat me, Leigh! I'm so happy you guest posted, and the post is a great one! I have to tell you, I spent so much time writing my first draft. On the next novel, I plan to write the first draft much more quickly. I also plan to do a little more outlining, since I know that if I have a direction, I can write faster. I love the quote by Kevin Anderson, because I am always so tempted to go backwards!
ReplyDeleteThanks to YOU for letting me come share today! I've had a blast! It was helpful to me too because I tend move backwards. I've been trying to stick to this on my rewrite and it's helping!
DeleteThe is an awesome bit of advice!I must say I'm guilty of trying to edit as I write and it definitly does slow you down and causes you to lose focus. Thanks to the both of you!
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of trying to maintain both points of view as I write, both as the author and editor. I carry both in my mind, (often hear voices in my head of editors and critique partners offering advice) and sometimes find myself going back over things a little too obsessively rather than moving on with the story. I usually manage to rein myself in and get on with the first draft, though. Then, on the next draft, I do my best to make everything polished. We all find different ways of writing that work for us.
ReplyDeletethis is my biggest problem.... it's brutal and it definitely makes for slooooooow writing.
ReplyDeleteMakes PERFECT sense... hard part for me is to turn off my brain, LOL. I want to have perfect first drafts... I'm learning to perfect the art of the bad first draft! LOL!
ReplyDeleteGreat comments Leigh! Love the video clip from Vinding Forrester -- forgot that scene. But, very true. Such a profound piece of advice.
ReplyDeleteThis is totally why I can't draft one book while I'm editing another. My brain fights with my heart :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! I absolutely needed this today. I'm always moving backward. And Leigh, you're great.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Because I seriously struggle with this issue. It's so, so hard for me to just write. But I'm going to try it when I start my next book!
ReplyDeleteSO TRUE. My first drafts come out so much better-- and therefore the whole story does-- when I let the momentum and heart flow. Thanks, Leigh and Lara!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Leigh, and I love Finding Forester. It may be time to rewatch it ;)
ReplyDeleteI loved Kevin's talk too. Its funny how much I've though about his presentations since. Seriously good stuff.
ReplyDeleteSome people can just pants like that but that isn't me. I need to have a structure and a path to follow before I can just vomit words on paper.
ReplyDeleteHead and heart! I love it. SO true :)
ReplyDeleteI sometimes hear my editor voice when I'm writing and try to ignore it, smack it down. I find sometimes, when writing, if I just keep typing...even if I'm not sure what word or phrase to use, I'll just type ___________ and keep on banging away. Editing comes much later. Great post.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree.
ReplyDeleteBut have learned not to then ship it to a beta until I at least one mindful read through!
I try not to edit as I write... but find myself slipping often! It's a compulsion. The perfectionist in me steps forward and says 'you're gonna leave that crap on the page? What if you die tonight and people think that's the best you can do?' Yeah, I'm weird...
ReplyDeleteGreat post ladies! Thanks for the advice on when to edit. I struggle with that stage a lot. The video clip was great!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I always plow through my first draft without thinking about it at all. I just go for it and whenever the editor in me starts to sit up and take notice, I tell her to shut up, she'll get her hands on it later. It took a long, long time for me to be able to do that but it works so much better. It's like Stephen King said, you write the first draft with the door closed (i.e. no one there to watch you) and the subsequent drafts with the door open. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree! This is great advice and why writing the first draft is so much fun for me--all the discovery and writing from the heart! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic bit of advice about writing that comes from a visual medium! Thank you, Leigh.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much to everyone for coming over and/or commenting on Leigh's fantastic post! Also, thanks and "welcome" to you new followers, Elizabeth, Shallee, Ruth and Deana!
ReplyDeleteWrite on, Leigh:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting such a cool peep, Lara. I suppose it takes one to know one :)
...one of my biggest weaknesses, just writing without making an attempt at going back and editing something from the day prior.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a Leigh follower, and agree, most excellent advice ;)
El
excellent post! I have so, so much to learn that posts like this really help me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat post/interview! I love it. Sometimes I get stuck in editing while I'm writing. Gotta step back and just let the words flow.
ReplyDeleteHi Lara - got an award for ya!
ReplyDeletehttp://thefarseas.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/great-comments-award.html
This is so great, and it's hard to not go back and want to fix things while just *writing*. I know for me, things flow better when I just let myself go and not worry about how many times I use the word *just* or whether that comma should be there.
ReplyDelete