Write Whatever You Want

            During Thanksgiving break in 2019, I was bored. I was only sixteen at the time, but I loved to write and was kind of in a slump after rewriting a few chapters in a story eight times and disliking each version. With nothing else to entertain me, I sat down to my laptop and began writing a random scene where the crew of a transport ship are panicking because a pirate ship arrives.

            Little did I know that scene would become the opening chapter of my novel currently titled Defenders. It took four years of writing, editing, rewriting, and editing some more before I was finally satisfied with the story. I am now in the process of getting it published, and I wonder how sixteen-year-old me would’ve reacted knowing those characters she just threw out there wouldn’t be forgotten by her like her others.

What am I trying to say?

            If you have my issue, you probably come up with a new story idea at least once a week. Some of them are forgotten, some of them take up so much space that they must be written down, and others look like they have potential. I wrote down so many scenes from random ideas that I eventually grew tired of seeing new files pop up on my computer. I now handwrite the scenes I know I won’t publish.

            But the thing is, sometimes we create an idea, and that idea turns into chapters, and those chapters eventually form a book. Without expecting it, we become obsessed with this idea. We believe it has potential. That’s what happened when I first wrote Defenders.

            The thing is, if I didn’t write that one scene, I probably wouldn’t have plotted out an entire book. From this experience, I learned that if there is a scene nagging me or a plot or character I like, I must write it down because I never know if that will become my next novel. I have a list of story ideas and excerpts that really stand out to me and plan to write them one day.

            I know it’s annoying when you have a bunch of story ideas, and they keep coming even when you want to focus on your WIP. But if there is a scene you really want to write, then write it! It doesn’t have to relate to your WIP, or maybe you can find a place to squeeze it in. You never know when you will go back to that scene, love what you wrote, and decide to plot out a new story.

What if you know you won’t publish that story?

            Write it down anyway. Over Christmas break this year, I handwrote 28 pages of a story I claim I won’t publish. I love the characters, and the plot revealed itself as I scribbled away at 12:00 AM. But I have so much I am focusing on right now that I probably won’t get around to writing the entire story. And that’s okay. If I didn’t write it down, it would’ve kept me awake like it did the night before I started writing it.

            Sometimes we just need to get a story out of our system. There are so many inspiring things around us that we can’t not come up with new story ideas. By writing out the scene, you get it out of your brain and then you can focus on what you need to. Or perhaps it will turn into something like my book Defenders did.

Write whatever you want

            Write whatever it is that’s on your mind, even if you think it’s cheesy or overused. If you think no one will see it but you anyway, then where’s the harm? If anything, you are exercising your writing muscles. You can even write random scenes as a warmup before you turn your attention to your WIP.

            If you want to write something, then write it. Don’t care whether the publishing industry would trash it if they see it, don’t care whether you will use it or not. Just get it out of your system but save it in case you can use it somewhere. You never know!

            Part of a writer’s life is having a mind cluttered with characters, plots, worlds, and action. It can be overwhelming and annoying, and the only way to clear our heads is to write. We may have a few story ideas or scenes in the same notebook or hundreds of files on our computer, but that’s okay. Writing is art, and art is messy.

            My novel was born from boredom and a random scene I wrote because of it. You never know if the next random scene you write will become your next book. Have patience with yourself and let yourself write whatever is on your mind. Maybe you’ll use it, maybe you won’t, but what’s important is it’s there and finally out of your head!