The Creative Paradox—a Writer’s Perspective (Patreon)

As a writer, I often find myself being pulled in two different directions.

The first—and the one readers definitely want me to go in—is to stay disciplined and finish my current story. The second—the lure of the unknown and adventure (if only of the in-your-head variation)—is to start something different. Something new.

The conflict I find myself in—wanting to start a new story versus needing to finish an old one—is sadly not unique. Many writers, I suspect, have faced a similar dilemma at one time or another.

There is definitely something enticing about a new story.

Just thinking about it makes me want to start one (fortunately, this time around, discipline triumphed, and I settled for writing this post). Imagination is central to every story, and Flights of Fancy (as I’m labeling the creative urge) are necessary—essential even—for a good tale.

On the other hand, it takes Discipline (the counter pull) to complete a story (and by story, I don’t mean a single book, but an entire series). This is especially true considering that these days most series can span anywhere between three and twenty books, all of which can take literally years—if not decades—to write. But this is not the only manner in which Discipline comes into play.

A good story is imaginative. A good story makes the reader ‘feel,’ and forces them to turn the page (every darn time if you’re lucky).

But a great story is more.

A great story is tightly woven. A great story is absent plot holes, inconsistencies, contains believable character growth, and keeps you reading the series even past the fifth, sixth, or even seventh(!) book.

A great story requires… well, Discipline.

Staying disciplined is mentally exhausting, though.

Especially when you’re six or seven books deep into a story, find yourself having to constantly refer back to earlier books to maintain consistency, or are already in your fourth or fifth year of writing the same story. Then, you find your mind craving an outlet.

This is when the call of your Flights of Fancy trumpet the loudest.

Ignore it, and you may find your writing growing tired, stale, repetitive, or (heaven forfend!) boring. Chapters that you previously spat out effortlessly in mere hours may now take days to complete. Words and phrases that came to you easily before now escape you. All while you begin to doubt.

“Will readers like this?”

“Is this truly worth the effort?”

“Should I be stressing over any of this?”

“There’s so much wrong with this story. Wouldn’t it be better to start over again—only better next time?”

But succumbing to your Flights of Fancy are not without consequence (besides the obvious one of having only a bunch of half-finished stories, I mean).

Every new story you start brings with it a fresh set of problems—especially if it attracts significant reader attention (yes, I didn’t make a mistake. I meant to say that. Success can be problematic too). 

A successful story leaves you bound by obligation. Now, instead of needing to finish one story, you’ve got three to finish! Try holding three entire stories in your head, keeping the characters separate, tracking their motivations, remembering the plotlines, etc… it’s a nightmare, let me tell you.

And if a new story is not successful, that’s just as bad. Now, you’ve wasted three months to a year of your life with little to show for it.

So, giving into your Flights of Fancy is bad. As is not giving into it.

Remind me: what was the point of this post again?

Not to recommend Discipline over Flights of Fancy or vice versa, certainly. I don’t have the answers (if I did, I wouldn’t have three unfinished series. Nor, for that matter, would I be taking time away from my work-in-progress to pen this post 😊).

No, I’m writing this as…  catharsis, or put another way, to vent.

I’m doing this to scrub my mind of its Flights of Fancy so Discipline can answer the call of this weary writer.

I’m doing this to express my frustration—not with readers, mind you—but with the creative process.

Or maybe, I’m doing it to make you laugh? Or if not that, to make you smile (I’ll even settle for an amused shake of the head). Or better yet, maybe I’m doing this to cultivate in you (the reader) a newfound appreciation of a writer’s dilemma (a worthy aspiration, don’t you think? 😊).

Still writing,

Tom

TomLitRPG.com

PS: This post is not a prelude to a new story. I’ve resisted the urge—this time. No promises about tomorrow, though. Or the day after. Or the day after that…

Second PS: This post is not meant as a cry for sympathy—or mercy 😊. It is intended as a lighthearted (and hopefully somewhat insightful) musings of one who dares to write. Don’t take it too seriously 😊.

Third PS: Why Paradox? Creativity is often equated with spontaneity—ideas that come from ‘nowhere,’ original thought, and so on—to which discipline—staying focused and plodding along the chartered course—usually runs counter (I didn’t know where to put all that, so I left it here 😊).

Fourth PS (yeah, they’re really getting too much now): This post is not meant to cast aspersions on any writer. It’s really just me wanting to write something other than the Grand Game for a bit (just a little bit).