How To Get Started Writing Fiction

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, is this Grant?

It is. Who am I talking to?

Hi, this is Jeff Kaiser, calling from San Diego.

I was calling because I, as I’m getting towards closer to retirement age, I’m 56 now, but I had raised a few eyebrows when I mentioned that I might be interested in researching how to do some fictional writing with the end goal of doing some novel or something along those lines.

And I’m kind of at the stage where I’m looking at it like eating an elephant. It’s just so daunting to try to get started.

I know it’s a one-bite-at-a-time type of thing, but I am so out of touch from a grammar standpoint, sentence structure, proper syntax, writing in the person and a certain person, narrative, illustrative.

I just have no idea where to start, and I figured I would ask my favorite worders how to start writing fiction.

Yeah, how to start doing something, creative writing, I guess it would be.

I’m a little leery about learning annex, kind of creating writing class. But if that’s the way to go, that’s the way to go.

Why are you leery about a creative writing class?

It just seems to be kind of self-serving kind of.

Yes.

I look at it like a continuing education class to teach people how to paint, and I feel it’s fairly rudimentary.

Jeff, Jeff, Jeff, Jeff, Jeff, hold on a second there. I want to back you up a second here.

I think you’re doing a disservice to what are some really fantastic programs.

Oh, great.

Really.

For example, at the San Diego Community Colleges and the continuing education programs here in Southern California, you will find some phenomenal programs, some fantastic teachers.

There are some hidden talent teaching classes for very reasonable rates here. There’s some really accomplished writers who are going unnoticed because they are working their tails off teaching classes and then writing on their own time elsewhere, putting out really good work.

You’re going to get some really good stuff happening here.

There are organizations like San Diego Writers, Inc., not just here in San Diego, but in every city across this country of any real size, you’re going to find writers organizations who have classes, mentorships, writers groups.

These are all good for you. These are exactly what you want. That is exactly how to begin eating the elephant.

Oh, fantastic.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be proven to be thinking in the wrong direction.

And part of it has to do with what do you have the urgency to say? Toni Morrison has talked about how, you know, there just comes a point where you have something and you’ve got to say it.

And she’s talked about how she never had nine days to write. You know, she never had a whole week off to just write. She had to write around her life and raising two boys and getting up early or working on weekends.

And it was because she had something that she really wanted to say. And if you have something you really want to say, then you’ll find a way to do it.

Another thing that I would mention is that if you’re wanting to work at home, in the privacy of your home, there’s a great book by Judy Reeves here in San Diego called The Daily Appointment Calendar for Writers that’ll inspire you to write from prompts.

It’s got a lot of inspiring quotations in it. And I think the key that Grant and I are both edging toward is just to start.

Yeah, I went to the San Diego Book Festival. I appeared on a panel, and I went to a bunch of other panels. And the same things kept occurring in all of these panels one after the other.

And we had some really amazing authors come through San Diego and to talk about their craft and their process and their books and their lives and sort of things.

And Martha hit one of the really important ones. First, start. Just start. Don’t let anything stop you from starting.

Another one is put your butt in the seat. When writers fail, it’s most often because they fail to write. And I didn’t invent that phrase, but that’s it.

And another one is writing classes, short circuit, a lot of trial and error. One of the best things I heard from a couple different writers was not just writing classes for fiction, but screenwriting classes, even if you don’t want to become a screenwriter, because they teach you plot and narrative arcs.

They talk about getting to the point really quickly so that you can keep your readers engaged. And you can use those same lessons for screenwriting in larger volumes that might be more traditional fiction and might be more literary.

And I would just also add that you mentioned something about grammar or syntax, something like that, and this is not the time to worry about that. No, that comes later. Trust us. That’s what editors are for.

And editing can be a great process. Yeah, so write first and do all the editing later. Don’t edit as you go. It’s a big trap.

Oh, fantastic. Blown mind. Just gone.

And, you know, Martha and I both sit here and go, like, well, does he want the six-hour version of this? Something tells me you do, Jeff.

Oh, my goodness. You have no idea. I would actually die and go to heaven six hours talking with you guys about this.

But just to kind of recap, here in San Diego, I recommend starting with San Diego Writers, Inc. I do recommend the continuing education programs at any of the colleges and community colleges here.

I do recommend the community colleges throughout Southern California and throughout this country. They are fantastic. You get great value for your money at community colleges everywhere.

And I do recommend this book that Martha talked about by Judy Reeves. That’s R-E-E-V-E-S. What’s it called again, Martha?

The Lively Muse, Daily Appointment Calendar for Writers. It’s a great way to ease into writing every day. And good luck to you. Send us your first draft when it’s ready.

Oh, I’ll send it before it’s ready. How about that?

And we’ll send you a go-get-em, Tiger, all right?

Thanks, Jeff.

Oh, my gosh. Well, just like first responders and police and doctors, again, I am so thankful for the service that you provide, the great Unwashed.

All right. Take care now. And good luck with this. Remember, butt in seat, all right?

All right. Polish that chair.

You betcha.

Bye-bye.

All righty.

Bye-bye.

Thanks a lot.