In a strange twist of either delusions of grandeur or masochism, writers have done their best to convince the world that writing is a wondrous pursuit filled with nothing but sudden bursts of inspiration and creativity after painful writer’s block.
You know how it goes in the movies and on TV: The morose writer will be walking down the street and a stranger will say to them, “Hey, jerkwad, what are you staring at?” and then the writer will get a funny little smile and walk a little faster and then pretty soon they’re skipping down the street toward their typewriter shouting, “Jerkwad! Jerkwad!! BY GOD I’VE GOT IT!!!!” and then there’s a montage of them frantically typing out their future bestseller.
I don’t know about your writing process, but that isn’t how mine works.
Sure, there are Eureka moments walking down the street or in the shower or while at the zoo (“Monkeys… MONKEYS!!!”), but if novelists wrote only when they were inspired it would take a hundred years to string together a novel. If you’re really going to finish one, you’re not only going to have to spend quite a lot of time writing and revising when you don’t feel like it, you’re going to have to spend quite a lot of time writing when you would rather be lighting your toes on fire.
The great Jane Yolen has a name for this: BIC. Butt. In. Chair. That is the writing process. Butt in chair.
You could also call it:
OMGTWISNTBICGOBINTW: “Oh my god the weather is so nice today but I can’t go outside because I need to write.”
IRWICGTTBGBIHTW: “I really wish I could go to that baseball game but I have to write.”
DMMIJGTSATBCSUITOS: “Don’t mind me, I’m just going to stare at this blank computer screen until I think of something.”
Just about everyone on the planet thinks about writing a novel at some point. Many of them really could and many of them could do it really well.
But there’s only one way to actually do it: BIC. Powering through when you want to stop, blocking out days on the calendar when there are more fun things you could be doing, staring at the pad or screen early mornings and late nights, and most of all, setting aside your doubts along the way.
And that’s of course even before you summon your willpower to try and jump through the hoops necessary to get the thing published.
If writing is always fun you may be doing it wrong.
Dara says
That's what I've been trying to do this week: BIC. And though there are many DMMIJGTSATBCSUITOS moments, I'm always glad at the end to see that word count go up and my book come closer to the end. 🙂
AM Riley says
what I want to know is how does that (cool, but still) picture on your profile relate to BIC?
MJR says
Is that guy painting the Golden Gate Bridge? I rode a bike across it a couple of years ago. It was kinda like writing a novel–not exactly fun. Actually it was pretty hard getting across it (scary fast cyclists zooming by me etc), but I'm glad I did it.
Nicole L Rivera says
Lol…I love this post. I'm totally in the mood to set some shoes on fire. The funny thing is I'm writing my first proposal after finally getting a request. I am stoked, but right now I am working on the synopsis. I would rather beat my head against the wall. However, that's not going to get my book published, so now it's time to get off the net and do some BIC.
Nathan Bransford says
AM Riley-
Painting the Golden Gate Bridge with a skinny paint brush = writing a novel.
At least in my brain!
scarlettprose says
Beware of BIC. It is the main cause of BGB (Butt Gets Bigger). I recommend daily physical exercise before engaging in BIC. It will not only ward off an expanding arse but it will also get the creative neurons firing. There. It had to be said.
Mayowa says
Ha! thats good.
Gene Fowler summed it up perfectly when he said.
"Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead."
Moira Young says
Nathan, just for you:
https://www.moirayoung.com/pictures/writingurdoinitwrong.jpg
And this post could not have come at a better time. Over the last few days, I've been in exactly that kind of funk, and this was a good reminder. (Or more specifically, that I *have* sat my butt in the chair in the past, so I have no excuse for not doing so now.) Thanks!
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan said:
"If writing is always fun you may be doing it wrong."
Thank you. I needed that. I am at the BIC stage – Butt in Chair doing revisions. But, oh my God, I am not happy. OK, I will stop now. No one wants to hear whining. 🙂
Steve Masover says
Fun is overrated.
Anonymous says
Writing was fun until I got my mms accepted. Now writing is WORK. 🙁
Matera the Mad says
Depends on what I'm writing. But there's another side to this. IJWTBANIWTW!
(I Just Went To Bed And Now I Want To Write)
wendy says
Well, writing is always fun for me. Always. Even the revision. I feel really alive when experiencing either the creative connection or doing the fine-tuning. I don't think I've ever had writer's block. I even tell myself stories when waiting in line or held up somewhere and am thoroughly entertained. However, I won't argue that I could be doing something wrong, and this might be why I take years/decades to finish a project.
But I suspect it's the amount of time I seem to need to fine-tune…the process results in the real never-ending story.
Perhaps imagination is strong but concentration leaves something to be desired.
angeliqueP says
When my dad, Louis L'Amour, arrived in Los Angeles after WWII he never drove anywhere…he never drove anywhere for the rest of his life–my mother drove or my brother or I drove him. He chose to never drive because if he did he would always want to know what was around the next bend or beyond the next ridge.
It might seem a bit extreme but it worked for him!
Jil says
For me writing, editing etc, is, if not exactly fun, always enjoyable. At least if I'm doing it wrong, I'm happy, and pleased with my, so far, six novels.
Now writing queries is not fun so I don't do it. Hmm, maybe that's where the BIC comes in.
Madeleine says
Wonderfully honest post. 😀
I'm 14, and I'm acutely aware that sitting in front of a computer screen with aching eyeballs, waiting for words to pop into my head is not what the typical teen is doing in their afternoons.
But it's what I do, and I love it, despite the agonizing and the fretting and the aching eyeballs that are screaming for eye-drops.
I posted a post about the elusiveness of inspiration awhile back (https://wp.me/pCSPr-9F), and I'm going to have to edit it to add a link to this post!
Kate says
I write for a living (not novels)/work from home and sometimes I'm relieved when inspiration leaves me so I can concentrate on my WORK, like, work-work. Stuff that pays the bills, even though it's not nearly as much fun. Sometimes I have to remind myself that balance is necessary and I must enforce boundaries to restore that balance.
Like when I haven't WORKED all day (or all week) cause I've been workin' on the novel. Or I start to feel the distance between my husband and me because I've been workin' on the novel. And maybe this means I'll never finish, or I'll never be published, or whatever. I'm okay with that.
Christi Goddard says
I have a file of 'story ideas' that strike me when I'm doing something else. I've juggled more than one writing project at a time, but I don't prefer it. I like to focus on one and get it done, then move to the next. I work faster that way. Plus I'm able to have just one story in my head all day and work through plot holes, visual missing scenes, or realize a mistake I made. Anything new pops up, I jot it down in my 'future book' file and keep trudging with the current one. Life is distracting enough without my creativity pulling me apart.
Kristin Laughtin says
Great post, although to be fair, if you have a laptop, you can write outside on beautiful days. (I've found it sometimes helps me to do so, because it takes away any resentment I might have toward missing the weather.)
My writing process doesn't work like this very often either, something I've been thinking about lately because I haven't had a Eureka moment for a while. Sometimes there are scenes that flow out of your fingertips and are beautiful and perfect, but the rest of the story around it requires a lot of hard work and BIC-time.
@Linda Godfrey: LOL! I used to be a substitute teacher, and middle schoolers are why I decided to become a librarian instead. Even if I've put them behind me, that's a good adage to remember.
D. G. Hudson says
B.I.C. must be adhered to at least once a day and something must be accomplished which will advance either the novel in progress or another writing project (short story, blog, or another novel.) That's my writing work ethic.
I'm embarking on the revision trail, and I'm starting something new – different genre, which is a great incentive to stay in that chair.
I have to admit that I like going for walks, and getting in touch with the 'outside world'. I get some great ideas simply by observing. Walking also remedies the side effects of too much B.I.C.
Writing time is a gift I give myself. I don't like to waste it.
WriterGirl says
DMMIJGTSATBCSUITOS. that's definitely my working process too. at least there's an acronym for it now! yay!
Meghan says
Thank heaven I'm not the only one.
ryan field says
"If writing is always fun you may be doing it wrong."
Ha! This is the best line I've read in a long time.
Anonymous says
BIC-wonders what I can accomplish 40 minutes b/4 LOST starts?
Sommer Leigh says
I actually recently blogged about this very topic in response to feeling frustrated with my writing group because I feel very much on a different commitment level than most people I know who love the idea of writing.
I decided this: If you want to be a writer, you must write. I think this should be handed out to every English, Poetry, and Creative Writing major on a little business card with gold foil and deckle edge. It is not enough to envision someday being published. You can say, “I really need to start writing that novel/screen play/short story.” But until you actually sit down and write, you are not writing.
Regardless of how much time, hobbies, and sanity that must be given up, I wouldn't have it any other way. I think that not everyone is truly cut out for this, and that is absolutely ok. Not everyone can be electrical engineers either. Or spinal surgeons or world class chefs. When did writing become an "everyman" profession?
I'm so inspired and awe struck by those people who sit down and do it, every day, no matter what, and even after the first book is sold and published are still willing to sit down and do it all over again.
Cyndy Aleo-Carreira says
I've gotta disagree with one thing… the weather being nice. One of the best parts about being a freelancer and wannabe novelist is that my office can be anywhere, and when the weather is nice, that's outside. I can sit on my porch in the sunshine, watch the kids run around, and still write. Which is why, even if it doesn't usually pay well, it's still the greatest job in the world.
Curtis says
Great post, Nathan. Writing is painful for me. Painful. But there is nothing else I'd rather do. And it IS baseball season, so that's saying a lot.
Kristi Helvig says
Actually, writing is always fun for me. It's the revising that kills me!
Yamile says
Yes, writing/revising/querying/waiting is hard. But so is life. If you want it bad enough, you'll have to do the work.
Thanks for the post, Nathan. Brilliant like always.
Lia says
Isn't writing at its worst more fun than reading query letters?
J. T. Shea says
That Golden Gate photo is giving me vertigo. And thoughts of Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. When I should be thinking about WRITING! Hitchcock was right about blondes.
And JohnO, it's International Orange. Really. That's the color of the paint. Somewhere in between Nathan's shirt and the Curtis Brown logo. Don't ask me why I know that. More interesting but irrelevant research, probably.
Donna Hole says
Oh; and here I just thought the dang thing would write itself while I was off earning a living.
My bad.
……dhole
dendrophilous says
OMGTWISNTBICGOBINTW: "Oh my god the weather is so nice today but I can't go outside because I need to write."
That's why my scheduled writing time is after dark. (Or lunch break, where "outside" means "surrounded by cement".)
Anonny says
Henceforth my sole writing utensil shall be BIC brand ballpoint pens.
Breeze says
absofrickinlutely Nathan. I'm fortunate that I can write ANYWHERE and ANYTIME however I also write everyday..so the laptop is my best friend…ya gotta get possessive about your writing time…it's your work!
Breeze
Leah says
I'm nearing the end of a 100 day commitment to work on the rewrite of my trilogy every day. I'm in the middle of doing some really hard work, putting in a lot of hours. BIC is the only way I'll finish on time. It's good to remember that everyone has to do it.
Dana Fredsti says
Well, it sure as hell isn't always fun for me, especially since I've been seating my butt in the chair (or on the couch) and writing every work night and all day on weekends. I've yet to scream 'MONKEYS!" on the street… or anything else, for that matter. i do think balance is important. Like, getting out on that lovely day for an hour before you start writing, but having the discipline to go back inside.
Oh, and using an Alphasmart when writing to avoid the temptation of the internet. 🙂
Kathryn Paterson says
But what if you can't sit on your butt? 😉
https://boxingoctopus.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-defense-of-sitting-on-your.html
Tabitha says
My 'eureka' moment came the day I realized I could harness the immense amount of stubborness I inherited and put it to good use. Butt has been in chair ever since. 🙂
Jack Roberts, Annabelle's scribe says
So true Nathan. I'm always saying BIC.
Also, Write Here. Write Now.
The Pollinatrix says
Am I the only lunatic here that actually enjoys revising and editing?
Other Lisa says
Related to Anon@2:43, the need for creative downtime…writers need patience. We think of the need for patience when dealing with querying and subbing but I think it applies to the actual writing as well. Sometimes you have to be patient and give the ideas time to come. You have to be patient and not rush through revisions because you are so ready for the book to be finished. It doesn't get finished that way, not properly anyway.
I see writers who rush the process, and it's a pity. They don't have the patience to make their book as good as it could be. Thoughtful work is often time-consuming.
This is one I wrestle with all the time.
Christine says
I prefer the term: BICHOK–BUTT IN CHAIR, HANDS ON KEYS.
And yeah, IWRBPAFIMEBIW–I would rather be poking a fork in my eyeball but I am writing.
AACK.
Nathan Bransford says
Definitely agree with Other Lisa. I think one of the points of confidence as a writer is knowing that your brain is always working even when you're doing something else and not feeling the pressure to come up with an idea on the spot. Nothing solves a thorny plot or narrative challenge like a little time taking a walk or sleeping or whatever unlocks your brain. It's a tricky balance between forcing yourself to sit down and just write and letting ideas marinate and being patient.
Ca.ll.y says
It reminds me of something my husband said to me the other day.
"It's a good thing you're married to kind of a jackass, because you need someone to nag you to finish your books."
I think I'll tell him about BIC; It's less profane.
Ishta Mercurio says
Ha-ha! I totally agree, and thanks for the reminder! Although I think I need my own acronym: BICID. Butt In Chair, Internet Disabled. Blogs like yours are great, but all the reading and commenting sometimes sucks up all my writing time. I need to develop more discipline in that area.
A Novel Woman says
What, you mean there isn't some magic pill we can take?
Whirlochre says
Sadly it's true. I've worn my bum bones down to my ribs this week. or rather — up.
When finally I rose from my seat last night, a magpie flew through the gap.
Tori says
Great post Nathan. It came at the right time for me. Just started a new project, and right now its fun. I need to remember BIC when writing starts feeling like work. Which is probably going to be soon.
As someone else on here also mentioned…I think taking breaks from our WIPs is important in the creative process as well.
Well, I'm off to start another chapter. Hopefully its as easy to write as the last. If not, I will remember BIC. And I will prevail.
Nichole Giles says
Thanks for that. Just what I needed to hear as I'm holding my eyes open with one hand and typing with the other.
YCNSUYFTC: You can not sleep until you finish this chapter.
Done! Goodnight.