Sunday, November 28, 2010

Ideas and their execution

I am coming to see that there are two main skills a writer can and should have: the ability to generate exciting and plausible ideas, and the ability to execute them. This is hardly a world-shaking revelation on my part. In fact it's rather obvious. But it is a new way of looking at things for myself so I thought I would share it with you.

While reviewing books I have noticed that some writers can take a ripper of an idea and then run it into the ground with atrocious writing. Conversely, a startlingly obvious or unoriginal idea can be elevated to brilliance by its execution. I need hardly give examples--you'll undoubtedly be thinking of your own while reading this. (OK, I'll give one example: this is the second time this week I shall espouse Bill Bryson but I am currently listening to his biography of William Shakespeare in which he writes eloquently, brilliantly and humorously about how we know diddly-squat about the world's most famous poet. This would undoubtedly turn into a cold fish of a book in the hands of a lesser writer.)

For the last few years while working earnestly on becoming published I have spent much time on technique: the sound and structure of a good sentence, grammar, vocabulary and punctuation. I'm rather pleased with the result though I hope for greater improvement in the future. I fear this may mean I will have to start reading and appreciating poetry, as I have heard from several quarters how reading poetry can improve your writing. For some reason I dread the prospect. Poets are so miserly with words, and gosh, how they make you concentrate!

I have read books on setting and character and dialogue and taken much of this into consideration. But the one thing there seems to be a dearth of in the literature of how to be a good, or even great, writer is how to generate ideas. Perhaps this is because there is no way to instruct someone on how have one. So-called writing exercises provide ideas and then ask you to run with them: these are exercises in execution, not idea generation. Stephen King in his wonderful book On Writing instructs the reader how to go about uncovering a plot once the initial idea has been had, but not how to have the idea in the first place.

I have never had an idea for a story out of the blue. They have always arrived in my head after I have said to myself, "Right, for the next five minutes you are going to think of a story idea. Go." And I don't do this very often because gosh, it's hard. I'm not talking about the ideas for the second or third book in a series, mind you. Those are easier as the initial spark has been had and I am building on an existing world and characters etc. But an honest-to-god new story. And when I do think of an idea it's almost always the very beginning of a story and would only cover the first third of a book, or as much as you would read in a blurb. Having a whole idea, including the ending of the story, is elusive to the point of major frustration.

The only course of action, I have decided, is to practice having ideas. GOOD ideas. I am going to tell myself more often, perhaps even once a day, to think of an idea. It seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it, ordering yourself to be creative? But I have little to lose and much to gain, so it is worth a try. I shall inform you of my progress.

Which do you struggle with more, the creation of ideas, or their execution?

11 comments:

  1. I am the kind of person who gets 10 stories for ideas every day. But then I've only just started trying my hand at writing and am finding the execution daunting. Still, I hope that practice makes perfect and one day these ideas might get told well!

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  2. I struggle much more with execution. I have story ideas filling my head constantly. They're not beginning to end ideas because that only comes with execution but they ideas themselves just pop in there of their own accord. I've never had to actively think up an idea. They're just waiting there for me. But the execution? That's where I stumble.

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  3. It's hard work, learning to write. It's not like something you just jump into and are fabulous. Took a while for me to understand that. You sound like you have it DOWN though!

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  4. Execution for sure! I am getting better at it, thank God, but there's still a lot of learning for me to do (isn't there always? lol).

    I'll have to try reading poetry to improve my writing. I feel the same way about it that you apparently do!

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  5. I have a million ideas- it just takes me a while to execute them. I like to think I am well versed with grammar and sentence structure, but I could always use help. I think we always have room for improvement in that area. With me, the ideas just come and I have to jot them down in the middle of doing something or else I'll forget them. You are so right though- have an idea is good- it's being able to execute it that makes it great.

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  6. Oh wow you guys! I'm so freaking jealous. Ideas and plotting are like my Achilles heel! I need to work on expanding my imagination :)

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  7. The hardest thing ...dialogue! Every time I write some it feels OK - and then when I come back to read it, it truly sucks. More than anything else, this is what is causing me not to keep slugging away.

    Ideas: not truly a problem, I feel, because so much of an idea is the original twist you put upon it.

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  8. Now i have to go find some poetry to read. Can it be any muck or should it be good?

    I sometimes think I have good ideas.... and then I think they're all pants. Maybe the only way to know for sure is to write said idea. If it is in fact pants that's a long time a figuring out...

    My brain hurts.

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  9. I'm with you, Rhiannon. Once the idea is there, the execution usually flows on from that. But getting the idea can take a bit of trial and error. I've had ideas or premises for stories that I thought were much better than I was able to execute when I started writing them. I usually don't mind creative writing exercises because the idea, or at least the subject is narrowed down for you. It's the idea of being able to write about *anything* that can seem crippling.

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  10. I guess I'd have to say execution, though it's more like determination -- just sitting down and writing and committing to something. I don't do that often. And I always wish that when I have a good idea I'd have the foresight to write it down, because I am NOT GOING TO REMEMBER IT later, even though I tell myself I will. I think a tiny little writers journal should be standard equipment...

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  11. Practice makes perfect, if not perfect - at least nearer to perfection.

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