Writers hear a lot about the nastines…

Writers hear a lot about the nastiness of the sludge pile and dread the thought of their novel becoming stuck in it. But personal sludge piles can be good things. Somewhere in that pile of scribbles may be the outline of a first published novel. When you’re out of story ideas and sort of discouraged from critiques, it’s time to rummage through it, read a little and be surprised at what good ideas you had. You’re really pretty good, aren’t you? Reading old stuff can renew your faith in yourself as a writer, and remember, you’ve learned a lot about the craft of writing since you tossed these aside.

New writers know the story, the part that can’t be taught, in their minds, but tell it badly. They rush in on the adrenaline high that we all know so well, and either submit with a query letter or post on a review forum, then get rejected or critiqued (which many perceive as the same thing) and give up. That great story hits the sludge pile and is forgotten. The reviews that may have helped get it going again are tossed into the trash bin. To work, they need to be kept together, studied and thought about.

If you want to get published, learn the craft of writing. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, pacing, dialogue . . . all that stuff you may have shunned in school will become second nature with enough practice. When I was in school, my English class taught english, spelling and grammar, but they didn’t teach or even mention the basic, number onr rule of writing: ‘Thou Shalt Not Bore Thy Reader’.

You have to read books, but not only the words; study the point where you held your breath with tension. How did they do that? Note to yourself too when you simply put the book down and couldn’t read any more. What made it bore you? What did you not like? Study the good and the bad.
You must listen to the criticisms. Accept some and reject others, but always listen. They can help you see where the reviewer caught his breath, and why that scene was good, so you’ll keep doing it. They can help you see why another area needs to be cut, even if you like it. The feedback might not work for this piece but it could on another. Keep your sludge pile close. It’s not a file of junk, it’s your notes.

When you are suddenly hit by inspiration, write it down as fast as it comes to you. That’s the part that can’t be taught, and no one else can do it the way that you do. Don’t worry about it being liked; if you like it, someone else will like it too. This is the draft, not the finished product. Remember, no one gets it right the first time.

Now, get to writing. It’s time to get to work and finish it, you’ve let it ‘age’ long enough.