The Jacob Whaler Method of Writing

Jacob Whaler Jacob Whaler is the author of the science-fiction series Stones and has taken to writing after spending much of his life gazing down financial documents. A writer at heart, he moved away from the megalopolises he lived in for something quieter, living the author's dream.

Greetings dear readers, a couple of days ago I got in touch with Jacob Whaler (jacobwhaler.com), author of the Stones series, in order to discuss writing.

More precisely, I asked him if he had any words of wisdom to share for aspiring writers who don't know where to start... and he gave me some of the best advice I've ever received on the topic. I decided it would be a crime to keep his insight away from the world, and so I am sharing it here today:

Jack Whaler says:

Thanks for reading my blog post and reminding me that I need to do more of them!

Yeah, for me it's all about getting my hands on the keyboard. Inspiration seems to strike when my fingers are moving. I rarely get good ideas for my books when I'm not at the keyboard. I have a feeling a lot of people "think" about writing a novel, but don't make any progress because they never actually sit down and start to write. Sitting in front of a blank page is a fearful and stressful thing. It's easier to just "think" about writing and spend a lot of time gathering ideas by watching movies, etc.

Don't get me wrong--it's important to constantly take in new material into your mind by reading books and watching movies, but you still have to force yourself to get to the writing part. As you pointed out, there's no limit to the types of excuses we can find to NOT write.

Here are a few of my favorite excuses:

1. I don't have a good computer to write on,
2. I'll wait until I get a new laptop,
3. I'll wait until I get some original ideas before I actually start writing,
4. I need to outline my novel before I actually start writing,
5. I'll wait until it's quiet and the kids go to bed before I start writing. I could go on and on.

It's all about just sitting down (or standing up) and writing. I had an interesting experience a couple of weeks ago. I was on a month-long trip in Japan (a country I love and which serves as the setting for most of my novels) and had been traveling around on trains for several days without any writing. I was on a crowded subway in Tokyo during rush hour and the train car was packed with people. I had a flash of an idea about a new novel set in the future in Tokyo. My first thought was to wait until I could get to my laptop to write, but then I just pulled out my iPhone and began to write on it. I wrote the first page of the novel right there on the train. I didn't need a laptop, I just needed to sit down and start writing.

For me, writing is like creating a sculpture out of clay. You have to have the clay there in front of you before you can make anything. And for writers, the "clay" is just a bunch of words they have put on a page in front of them. The words have to be on the page before you can make anything. So, the first order of business is to GET SOME WORDS ON THE PAGE!!! They don't have to be good words, just WORDS! Just grab that laptop or phone or writing pad and start writing. The first minute is the toughest. Once you make it through the first 60 seconds, you have enough momentum to keep going. The key is to not think about it and just start writing. Just start typing the Pledge of Allegiance or something.

Here are some things that have helped me:

• Stop kidding yourself that you'll wait until some BIG IDEA hits before you start writing. The ideas don't usually hit until you are already writing.
• Don't worry too much about being original. Just start writing. Grab you favorite book and start copying words and sentences from it (which you will later change and edit -- no plagiarizing!!)
• First drafts are always garbage, but you have to have a first draft before you can move on to something better. It's the first step on the ladder. Just get that first draft on the page--quality doesn't matter at that point.
• Tie your writing to something physical and make it a habit. For me, I ride a train to work and it's just become a habit for me to sit down and open my laptop when I get on the train. I don't really have to think about it anymore. Maybe for you it will be something like "when I wake up in the morning, I will write for 30 minutes before I do anything else." Just come up with a regular time to write and then DO IT!! NO EXCUSES!!!

Anyway, I could go on. Thanks for your email, and START WRITING, my friend!!!!

I waited to start writing novels until I was in my 40s. I wasted at least 20 years. Don't let that happen to you!!!

Good luck.

Also, he had addition thoughts to share in a second, shorter e-mail, and I definitely think they're worthy of sharing:

[...]I'm convinced that there are a lot of people out there with incredible ideas hidden inside their minds that will only be freed and put on the page for others to enjoy if they sit down at a keyboard and just start moving their fingers. It would be great to find a way to motivate them to start writing. Many of them (you included!) will be surprised to discover that they have a lot to contribute.

Incidentally, established writers know this principle is true and it scares them. These writers are afraid that if everyone knew how easy it is to write (after you simply get started), the writers would lose their positions at the top of the food chain because so many other great writers would enter the market. These established writers have an interest in perpetuating the myth that writing is very difficult and only certain "talented" people can do it. As long as they have everyone convinced that writing is hard, there's less competition.

I really feel like everyone can be a great writer in their own way.
Good luck!

Best regards,

Jacob Whaler