It seems counterintuitive that an agent would suggest that writers slow down. After all, isn’t the volume of output one of the keys to an author’s success? There is a measure of truth in that, but today I’d like to explore the concept of Slow Writing.
Think of it as a leisurely walk in the woods as a child. I remember strolling through sticks and leaves exploring the forest surroundings. I would watch a bug crawl up a tree and listen to the birds calling out their warnings as I approached. If too close, a startled squirrel would skitter away. And after a turn, finding a new running stream after a rain. I was fascinated as the water carved a new path in the ground, seeking to find the end of its gravity-laden journey.
But if I simply ran as fast as I could through those trees, I would miss every single one of those memories.
Recently, I watched the blur of fingers across the laptop keys by the man next to me on the plane and wondered how he did it. And the skittering twitch of that person typing with one hand on their phone, juggling a bag and a coffee mug in the other. In some ways, writing has become a substitute for the spoken word, and we are trying to “talk” as fast as we can to “get it done.”
And the loss is ours.
Consider
In the near future, I would encourage you to think like a poet. A great teacher and editor, Roger Palms of Decision magazine once told me that the best article writers he worked with were poets. Because they knew the importance of a single word.
Consider the perfect word for your next sentence. Is it laden with eloquence? Is it burdened by meaning? Will it shake its reader?
Roll the words around on your tongue. Let them move. Let them breathe.
Craft
It is a struggle to use those slow words as they take shape. There is a famous story of a friend asking novelist James Joyce if he’d had a good day writing. “Yes,” Joyce replied happily. How much had he written? “Three sentences,” Joyce told him.
Craft takes time. There are days when 10,000 words will flow from your fingers. Other days will be excruciating. But in the end, a better piece of writing will appear.
Read these lines from the opening page of Tosca Lee’s novel Havah where she describes the first moment of the life of Eve, right after being created by God in the Garden of Eden. And then ask, Are these the right words, at the right time, in the right place?
Wake!
I opened my eyes again upon the milling blue, saw it spliced by the flight of a bird, chevron in the sky.
This time, the voice came not to my ear, but directly to my stirring mind: Wake!
There was amusement in it.
I knew nothing of where or what I was, did not understand the polyphony around me or the wide expanse like a blue eternity before me.
But I woke and knew I was alive.
Create
Slow writing is a discipline of waiting. A discipline of silence. A discipline of thoughtfulness.
Releasing the temptation of Task (with a capital “T”) fills us with guilt in the beginning because we aren’t “doing” anything. Ridding ourselves of the need to succeed today, now, this instant, may clear our minds of dark clouds. It may be in that widening space that the words can begin to flow again.
Let’s see what a few days of Slow Writing can do for you.
Caveat
I must be very clear that this post is in no way a criticism or critique of those who write and publish much faster.
Some writers can write extremely fast. Their output is prodigious. But it is not slapdash or haphazard. Often they have spent long hours thinking, planning, plotting to get to the point where the words flow in a torrent. It just seems like they “crank ’em out” when it actually is part of the strategy!
I have clients who write one book (fiction or nonfiction) every three to four years.
I have other clients who can write one every three to four months, or even faster.
Both are right in their methods.
So, let’s be careful that we don’t fall into a comparison of volume in output as being somehow less literary than what I wrote here and called Slow Writing.
My intent is to challenge each of us to consider our words and make sure they are the right ones to put on the page. If they come at lightning speed, it may still be Slow Writing, because it took years to get to the point where you can create quickly and with quality.
Other writers are gifted at writing slowly. Neither is wrong in their approach. Merely different.
Thanks for this, Steve! I’m glad to know I’m not an irredeemable misfit, as a slower writer! 🙂 I’ve wondered, though, whether there’s a minimum acceptable speed an author needs to be able to write at to keep publishers happy and enjoy a career writing novels? I was surprised to read that someone took 4 years to write a book. Would a multi- book contract allow a pace like that, or do you have to be able to produce at least one new manuscript a year for publishers to be interested? Thanks!
Thank you for this blog, Steve. Your words have encouraged me greatly
This is extremely encouraging! Thanks!
Each day I open this email in search of inspiration. Each day I come away inspired. Today’s post is exceptional. Thank you. The Holy Spirit is guiding me safely down a steep hill with lots of curves. You’re reminded me to be patient. Slow and steady. The result will be glorious.
You’ve. 🙏
I wanted to write two novels this year, but I gave up that goal. Long gestation is part of my writing process. It consists of thoughtful preparation, the joy of the craft as I compose, and reconsideration and reflection along the way. Perhaps as I grow as a novelist, I will learn to deliver sooner, but I cannot imagine sacrificing any of the growth along the way.
This is something I needed to hear. I am a slow writer and often wondered why. Now I know-it’s the way God made me.
Thank you for this post.
Thank you Steve. As a broadcast journalist I learned to write exceedingly fast to meet constant deadlines. But in writing my Spiritual memoir I did just the opposite, with long hours of thought and shaping–and prayer– as it slowly developed.
I do believe it has value for readers, and I hope you think so too!
Thanks for the encouragement to be me.
Blessedings ~
Liberating! Thank you.
I’ve found that speed is relative to the collaboration process. There are times of intensity, and there are times of discovery and contemplation. It seems to me He enables both as we grow into intimacy with Him. I signed up for NaNoWriMo a number of years ago. But I was behind schedule by Thanksgiving, by almost 25,000 words. I was determined to finish and spent the Thanksgiving weekend furiously typing. My wife and kids graciously allowed me to disappear into my story. I managed to complete the last 25,000 words late that Saturday. I was so dialed into His presence that the story just grew as I typed. I type with headphones and good Christian music playing to shut out distractions, because my computer is maybe ten feet from the kitchen (I know, not optimal). I know He helped me write that much in a short time. Because there’s no way I could do that today. Normally, it takes lots of throwing ideas away before I type. Thanks for the perspective Steve.
Thank you, Steve.
This is reassuring. Thank you! I took three years to write my first novel. I was intentionally slow because I wanted to learn as I went. I finished my second one a couple months back. It took two years, partly because it required intensive research and the facts were hidden. I had hoped to finish it in one year and speed up from there.
One much faster author explained she doesn’t research anything! For my next book, I’ll write on a topic I know, to cut back on research hours.
I think how much we take in can also stymie our writing quality. It’s impossible to reflect and create meaningful work with interference from a million social media/news topics.
Thanks for this, Steve. I’m a slow writer. And I discovered if I take my time, things I never thought of make it into my manuscript, which makes it a better story. Many times, I’ve been thankful I took my time.
I do a lot of planning, plotting, and writing in my head. And when I sit to write, I can get more done because of that. But it’s never fast.
I feel encouraged!
Hi Steve. I just love what you say about slow writing AND about HOW you say it. Your words are powerful and life changing. I don’t often comment on pieces arriving in my inbox, but this one of yours, is so very special.
I’m a background piano player, writer and stride walker, aged ninety, and still playing four mornings per week, at three hours per gig. This keeps my brain working and my body fit. I’m also currently working on a series of articles about songs and their lyrics. entitled, ‘Songwriters as Master Poets’, sub-titled
‘Legends behind the Lyrics’, which requires all the ‘Slow Writing’ your post outlines and suggests.
Thank you, Steve, for the added inspiration.
My website below is being rejuvenated. Please don’t view it yet. MICHAEL
Helpful observations.
I think of it as intentional writing flowing from a clear introspective mind and nurtured spirit.