Expert: Mark David Gerson - 1/28/2008

Question
QUESTION: Dear Mark, I'm a published writer here in Indonesia. I'm currently on the making of my second novel, and I have a serious problem I can't solve alone. It's about the idea incubation.

So here I've incubate my idea for nearly 5 months. I think it's too long, really. I usually incubate my idea for 1 week or so. But this is a special case. I haven't got my final idea until now!

My criteria of "final idea", is something that could make me write non-stop, full with exploding enthusiasm, and hence, with that kind of spirit, usually the story will reach the finish line. So I usually choose not to start writing until I get the final idea.

Now, when I don't have that final idea, I can't write my second novel, and it's frustrating. People told me that it's writer's block. But I have tried many ways to overcome writer's block--reading, watching TV/movies, talk to people, but still I failed to get the final idea.

I read a book that said, "Let the idea incubate itself. Don't push yourself to write until the idea reach the final form."

But it has been too long, don't you think? What should I do? Should I keep waiting, or should I write anything I have on my head, even those ideas couldn't give me the exploding enthusiasm?

Oh yes, and P.S, I just accepted a prestigious writing award recently in Indonesia, so you can tell that my name's kinda hot now, and my readers always plead me to release my second novel ASAP! I'm in deadline here! Thank you for the answer.

ANSWER: Dear Farida,

Thanks for your question. It's an important one and one that's not as uncommon as you might think.

Without having an in-depth conversation or coaching session with you, I can offer only possibilities not a definitive answer.

One possibility is that you're being called to leap in without your "final idea." Perhaps the final idea will emerge *in the writing.* Perhaps it *can* only emerge in the writing.

When I began my (award-winning) novel, The MoonQuest, I knew nothing about the story other than an image that inspired the first scene. As I wrote, day by day and word by word, the story, characters and title emerged --quite on their own.

Sometimes, we know exactly what the story is about and where it's going before we begin. Sometimes, we grow into the story through the writing of it.

Which brings me to this excerpt from my book on writing, "The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write." I don't normally quote from my own work here, as it can appear self-serving. But in this instance, the piece from the book feels particularly relevant.

You might also check out another free excerpt on the book's web site ("Thirteen Rules for Birthing Your Book"): http://calltowrite.com.

Good luck...and keep the faith!
Mark David Gerson
http://markdavidgerson.com

Here's the piece from the book...


'If you find yourself feeling blocked on a particular project, ask yourself whether what you’re writing is the right idea for you right now.

"Perhaps it’s the right idea for someone else but not for you. Perhaps it will be the right idea for you at some future time. Or perhaps this project was right for you when you began it, but is no longer.

"It’s possible that you’ve outgrown it. It’s also possible that you haven’t fully grown into it.

"I was a hundred pages into the first draft of The MoonQuest when I set it aside for what turned into a five-month hiatus. The day I returned to the book, I was afraid to reread those hundred pages. I was afraid the manuscript wasn’t any good, and I was afraid I had outgrown it and would have to abandon it.

"What I realized, once I began reading, was that I hadn’t been ready to continue with The MoonQuest and that’s why my Muse had cut me off when
it did.

"As it turned out, five months away from the book gave me the life experience I needed in order to be able to carry on. I began writing that same day and three months and 300 additional pages later, the first draft was done.

"Sometimes, what seems a block is a matter of timing. Sometimes, it’s just not the right idea. When we drop a project or leave it incomplete, we don’t always know into which of those two categories it falls.

"If your discernment tells you to let the project go, don’t mourn the perceived waste of time and energy. Trust that you will either return to it when the time is right or that you’ve gained all you needed from the experience and can now move on to other writing.

"A wrong idea isn’t necessarily wrong for all time. But if it’s wrong for right now, let it go and free yourself to write what’s right. For you. Now."

(c) 2008 Mark David Gerson

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ow, thanks thanks Mark! I think that excerpt from your book is really helpful! What a book! Thank you. It's kinda enlightening me. But can I ask you one more question?

So here, I really want to be a professional writer, someone who dedicate herself truly to writing. And I thought professional writer is a productive one. But look at me now. What, 5 months thinking about one idea? I'm in college, I was busy back there, but I thought that's not a good enough reason not to finish just one more novel.

I always mad at myself, why can't I be productive? I mean, why? Oh my, I'm sorry for being a little emotional here. But, could you suggest some tips for me being more productive?

Answer
Dear Farida,

If it's productivity you seek, become a news journalist. If it's your creative spirit you seek to nurture, you must be open to its vagaries and its timeline.

That doesn't mean you can't be a productive novelist. It does mean that your muse and your mind may have different definitions of what that means.

Stop judging yourself. Stop and breathe. Stop and listen. Cultivate patience. Then pick up your pen and start writing. Anything. Just keep going...wherever it takes you, and let a story emerge. Any story.

Listen for the stories. They're there...even as they may not be the stories you thought they were. Write the stories that want to be written, not the ones you think you want to write.

Just write. Without expectation, without preconception. And allow the miracles to birth themselves onto your page, as you step aside and get out of the way.

Remember, the story always knows best.
Mark David
http://calltowrite.com