There is no 'Right way' to write... (4)
Part 4: What kind of writer are you?
So far in this series of posts we’ve looked at two of the fundamental questions I believe you need to ask yourself before you go on to contemplate what you are writing and how you are writing it: Why do you write? and Who do you write for?
Hopefully you have attempted to answer those questions, and tried to validate that they are in alignment - and if not, to understand where the disconnect might be. Interestingly, the outcome - even if your answers are slightly out of whack - may not require to do very much at this stage; this is because these parts of exercise are focussing on you better knowing your ‘writing self’.
Not being a call-to-action is less likely to be the case with the third question…
Question 3: What kind of writer are you?
When we sit down to write we need to know why we are doing so, and who we’re writing for. The most common answer will be that we are doing it for ourselves and because we simply love the process of writing - but whatever the combination, the two answers should ideally be complimentary.
The third question in this particular triumvirate is to try and decide what ‘kind’ of writer we are. This has more to do with our process than anything else.
For example, here are some possible (and plausible) answers:
Undoubtedly there will be a few more.
As with the answers to the previous two questions, alignment is the critical factor.
For example, if your ‘why’ and ‘who’ are perfectly aligned because you are writing for a publisher and to meet a contract (with all the attendant commitments to dates etc.) you can immediately see how being a ‘go-with-the-flow’ or ‘casual’ writer might be problematic; the likelihood is that you are not going to fare very well in hitting dates… You might say the same if you were a ‘reluctant’ writer, too. But in recognising as much, you could potentially put a regime in place which would help you address that i.e. to start heading towards ‘methodical’. Someone who is methodical, structured and disciplined will have far less trouble with hitting deadlines.
Alternatively, you might instinctively be a ‘methodical’ or ‘structured’ kind of writer, but your lifestyle - work, family etc. - may prevent you from executing in that way i.e. in order to be more satisfied/creative/productive you may need to try and teach yourself to be more relaxed about when and how you write.
In a significant proportion of cases the 'kind’ of process person you are will be most critical when considered against what you are writing, but do not underestimate the value in holding up this particular mirror to yourself. I see lots of people refer to themselves as ‘pantsers’ (a lazy term for ‘seat-of-the-pants’ I hate); but if you are one of those, there will be things you write - as well as the ‘why’ and ‘who’ - for which such an approach is best (or worst) suited. I came across a ‘pantser’ who wrote murder mysteries with no planning or forethought at all. I would have thought such a genre - perhaps more than most - needed decent planning and forethought to produce a credible and coherent end product...
As with the previous two questions, there are no ‘wrong’ answers - but there will most definitely be sub-optimal combinations of answers.
So, if you have been reading along with me, you should now have answers - ruthlessly honest answers! - to three questions: Why do you write? Who do you write for? What kind of writer are you?
Are you happy with your answers? Do they truly reflect you? Do any of them - or any combination of them - make you feel a shade uneasy?
Next time, why all this is important - especially when considering ‘what’ you are writing…
I was going to put this post behind a paywall, after all it’s my intellectual property, my effort has gone into it, and the site is part of my livelihood. You wouldn’t do a week’s work for someone and then tell them not to bother paying you…
But then I decided not to. However, if you’d like to support me…