We reached the last post in our monograph on how to write a novel, in which we have been reviewing, as a compendium, the different tips and factors to consider according to the majority of manuals dedicated to narrative creation.
And with it we bring you the last of the premises that all of them usually recommend: have a writer attitude.
This entails a series of convictions and customs that we will try to review and that are of a very diverse nature.
First of all, we must be very clear what is it that leads us to write, what is the engine that drives us. For this we must ask ourselves why we write and be very sincere in the answer. If our answer points to success, recognition, fame or money things are not looking good: neither are they adequate reasons to dedicate a life to writing (and to do it with real enthusiasm) nor are they easily achievable objectives in the current literary scene.
Quoting the great Charles Bukowski, in his poem So You Want to Be a Writer, "If it doesn't come burning from within (...) don't do it."
I write out of the need to do so. That seems to be the only valid and lasting answer for most vocational writers. Any other answer will lead you to faint along the way.
Another of the tips that the manuals repeat the most, which is extremely important, certainly seems a mere redundancy: the best thing one can do to write is to start writing.
However, if we examine the phrase carefully we will see that it contains a very great truth. All writers have fantasized about being one before they have written. «I would write this, I would translate the other. In my novels there will be these elements and the characters will behave in such a way »…. But all of it is nothing, as long as it's just inside your mind. As we've seen, writing requires practice, learning, and constant improvement, but that won't happen until you have a first text to look at critically to begin polishing your style.
The attitude also implies being brave. Don't let fear of failure or failure keep you from trying: mistakes are the basis of improvements, they are the opportunity to grow as a writer. Do not think too much about the final result, or the publication, or the readers (at least more than necessary since reception is an inescapable part of the communication system and therefore the novel, as a message that it is, must have it in counts up to a point). Just write, and don't be afraid of what comes your way.
Another interesting tip in order to have the necessary attitude is the following: read everything you can. Get closer to different authors, touch all genres, all eras and movements. Do not limit yourself to reading literature, read the press, essays, manuals (it is even possible that in some passage of your own work you have to reproduce one of those types of speech). Soak up as much as you can in different styles from which you can incorporate things and above all, cultivate yourself as much as possible: writing a novel is a great dump of ideas, something that can hardly be done with a head empty of content.
Another component of the correct attitude is predisposition not to decline. Do not leave your work in the middle, manage your energies well: it is a long-distance race. Many write non-stop for the first month and then spend a couple of hours each weekend completing the rest of the novel, of course obtaining uneven results in both periods. Overcome blockages when they occur, just let go by doing something else and then face them with the greatest of energy.
It is also important to be alert, let the writing project soak up your days and have your eyes and ears wide open: on a daily basis you will find things to incorporate into your work and that will surely save you from being blocked on more than one occasion.
We have left for last the two tips that we deem most important of which narrative creation manuals usually offer.
One would be the following: Constancy and routine. Have a more or less fixed schedule, try to write every day or at least sit at the computer or the blank page even if nothing comes out. Have an orderly space (even if it is your own order) in which you can work without being interrupted by anyone and reserve enough time. You can know when you start writing but you never know when you finish: if the words flow it is always good not to have to leave it halfway to fulfill another commitment. Writing requires a bit of talent and a lot of effort, work, and dedication.
And finally the last and the most valuable advice of all: enjoy what you do ... otherwise none of this would make sense.