Struggle Through It

Earlier this week I talked about how sometimes, as writers, we have to move on from an idea, but what happens during the initial idea phase when you have a really great thought, but you can't seem to get it on paper? In your head, the idea is flawless, but the connection between your brain and your hand seem to be severed or, at the very least, temporarily not on speaking terms.

There have been many times that I've struggled through my writing, but it seems that the more challenged I am by something, the better I do. Good writing takes work. Maybe on the first go around you just want to throw all your ideas out onto the page and worry about perfecting them later. Maybe you're like me and you watch the blinking line on your screen a thousand times before coming up with the perfect way to say something (which you will probably change later). Either way, struggling can be a good thing if it is the right kind of struggling. Let me explain what I mean.

When I good struggle it is because something I am writing is particularly challenging and in some way personal to me. I am struggling because in my mind I know exactly how the scene I am describing should feel to the reader, but I find it difficult to put into words. When I bad struggle it is because I am trying to make a story something that it is not. This mostly happens when I'm given a prompt that requires a certain ending (I hate these). As a writer, it is important to let your characters and conflicts drive the story, your hand should simply facilitate that process. When I try to take over, I bad struggle.

I think the most important thing is to remain self-aware. You have to know when you are struggling and why. If it is a bad struggle, move on and let the story do what it wants. If it is a good struggle, hold on, push through, and let the magic happen.