Be a Problem Solver
November 30, 2005 by John Hewitt
Problem solving is what I do. It’s what my activity is, all day, sometimes a sentence, sometimes a whole book. My satisfactions come from solving those problems. It’s work, just endless work. – Philip Roth
One night, about ten years ago, I wrote a short novel. Yes, I wrote it in one night. I began at about four o’clock in the afternoon and I finished up at about ten o’clock the next morning. It was almost 40,000 words. The words just flowed like water.
About once a year I read through that novel and try to think of a way to make it work. It has action and romance and what I consider to be a very interesting lead character, but it just doesn’t feel right by the time I get to the end. I still haven’t found a way to turn that novel into something I want to publish, but I will keep trying.
My point is that there are moments of brilliance when you write, but for the most part it is a lot of hard work. Some poems come perfectly written the first time. Others take a lot of work to shape up. There are some that just never feel right. Articles can be easier because your goals seem more modest, but there is still a big leap between good writing and great writing. That leap, for the most part, is hard work and the ability to solve problems.
I still don’t think I am a good enough editor to be a truly great writer, but I am working on it.
Related links
- Fifteen Writing Exercises (0.500)
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I have been fortunate enough to complete a screenplay. It took me approximately nine months. And, to be honest, I only did the revision and final edit.
Basically, you already completed the rough draft to your novel when you wrote those 40,000 words in 24 hours, which is rather impressive. Now, you only need to complete the revision and final edit.
To me, personally, novels and screenplays have a different kind of vibe to them than I feel when I’m writing a poem. Basically, writing’s pretty much the same, regardless of all the other stuff. But, poetry, ad copy, and legal documents are relatively short, so they can be accomplished with an all-out intense effort.
However, with novels and screenplays, you don’t really have a finish line. At least, you don’t see one until it’s actually done. So, for me, it was very important to keep a somewhat rigid schedule. I wanted to write for 4-6 hours a day. And, I started to set short-term goals. I would concentrate on completing a particular scene that I had difficulty with. Or, I would look forward to finishing a certain number of pages – 50, 75, 100. And, I had the opportunity to solve problems with a character’s dialogue – or a scene – that just didn’t seem to work. I’d look forward to completing chapters.
Sometimes, I’d set in front of that computer screen for an hour or more before I actually started to write down something that I’d actually keep. But, it’s all writing. And, it is fun.
Well, take it easy.
sincerely,
melvin