DON'T write good stuff for as long as possible- here's why

When my writing is excellent, that is my biggest trap as an author.

Because we get attached to pretty things.

The most important part of a novel is the storyline. If I don’t have that, even if my prose is excellent, I’ll have the kind of book readers will put down one night and then keep unopened on their nightstand for months, collecting dust, and they won’t even know why.

“It’s a beautiful book, I just need to finish it,” they’ll utter. It’s because the plot, the narrative, just isn’t compelling enough.

And that’s why good writing is dangerous- because if it gets in the way of the overall narrative, it’s HARD to delete. I’m dealing with this right now, and will likely have to get rid of the best written part of my book (30 whole pages fucccckk meeeeeee) because it doesn’t serve the best narrative. A lesser author would keep it, in fact, most authors try to keep this stuff- which is why you haven’t heard of most authors.

I heard that writing is like acting- like, actors always have to make the best possible choice in any given moment. Novel writing is the same way- some things can work, but are they the strongest possible choice? That’s the difference between a book that gets read and one that sits on the shelf.

And often, you have to remove your best work, to create your best work.

So, try to focus on narrative first and foremost, so you don’t get attached to anything you’ll have to kill later on.

“Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and put it in; but remember that its ultimate destination is the waste-paper basket.” - Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, On the Art of Writing