Advice

Fiction Is More Stressful Than Nonfiction

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

As I return to fiction writing with my next novel in the Avenoth series, A School of Many Futures, I find it more stressful than writing non-fiction. I write a lot of nonfiction, and it’s relatively low-stress, yet fiction . . .

My experience with fiction writers reveals this isn’t universal – some are quite relaxed about making it, others knotted with anxiety. So I wondered, why is it more stressful for me – if I understand that, perhaps it’ll help others.

It didn’t take long for me to find out.

Nonfiction writing is . . .

Useful: It takes effort or vast ignorance to make a nonfiction piece truly useless. Oh, it’s possible, but a sincere effort will create something of value. Even if its from a limited viewpoint, at least that nonfiction piece matters to a slim slice of humanity.

Grounded: Nonfiction is grounded in the real world (or our idea of it). Research is available, data is available, previous examples are available. As I heard it once put “nonfiction all shares the same universe.” Research and reference and editing is much easier.

Organizeable: Most nonfiction work lends itself to patterns, outlines, and so on. This is because it is grounded in reality (we can refer to the structure of that reality) but also humans have been busy organizing reality for aeons. There’s plenty of reference. In fact . ..

Relateable: Because we humans share enough similar experiences, good nonfiction work can connect with readers easily.

Marketable: Let’s be honest, when you write nonfiction you sort of know the target audience. If you’re a specialist, even moreso. Sure, your coffee table book “Toilets of America in the 1800’s” may seem narrow, but at least you know your exact audience. Besides, you tell me that wouldn’t be an amazing gift for a plumbing professional or historical writer.

Now with this said, let’s look at fiction, using the above as a template. What makes fiction so stressful?

Unknown Value: Fiction is not real. We don’t know it’s value because of the diversity and unpredictability of people. Is this story going to deliver what people want or flop?

Ungrounded: Fiction isn’t grounded in reality. Even “modern day” fiction can be complicated by the fact we’re making things up in the real world, making it more stressful. I think this is why good fiction writers find hooks.

Hard To Organize: We’re making up something that never happened. How do we organize the unreal?

Potentially Distant: We’ve got to have people “get into” the fiction. But can we create a gateway for them to connect to our work when there may be no solid common ground.

Unsure Market: With so much fiction, with so many ways our stories can go, is there a market for our work? We don’t know. I know fiction writers who obsessively research, but that has to be exhausting.

In summary, nonfiction is something that is likely valuable and grounded in shareable experience, whereas fiction is unpredictable and connected in strange ways. In this, we can see how people managed to make fiction less stressful – they make it more (but not totally) like nonfiction. I can see this in my own writing.

This gives me a few ideas of how to deal with stressful fiction writing.

Value your work: Know why you do your work, what matters, and who it’s for. “It’s fun” is 100% fine.

Ground your fiction: Make sure your fiction is grounded in something, from solid worldbuilding to hard emotional truths. That makes it real, connectable, and removes anxiety – while inspiring you.

Organize: Plotting, pantsing, outlining, iterative improvement – there’s many methods to organize fiction writing. With that organization you have that confidence in what you’re doing, that sense of re laity. Note your method may be “whatever with plenty of iterative improvement” and that’s fine.

Connectable: Make sure people can connect to your work via emotional relevance, good descriptions, etc. When it’s connectable people care – and you get that sense of connection.

Market Decisions: Address marketing concerns head-on. Do you care? Do you want to sell a lot of books? Maybe you do intense research, maybe you just do your thing. Do it and go on.

I’m not saying make your nonfiction like your fiction. That’s ridiculous. What I am saying is take lessons from nonfiction, from organization to sense-of-reality, and apply it to fiction. If you can make a book of spacefaring dragons or cyborg superspies something a person “gets” as sure as a mouth-watering recipe, then you’ve done your job.

After all, be it real or imaginary, the goal is to have people get into and experience your work, be it fact or fantasy.

Steven Savage

The Challenge of Supporting Your Fellow Creatives

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

We’d like to support our fellow creatives because we care, because they’re our friends, and because we know what we’re going through. It’s often challenging for us to do for many reasons.

  • We may have limited time and resources to help.
  • We may know creatives who aren’t good at accepting help.
  • We may know creatives who are busy.
  • We may, simply not know how to help or be able to.
  • We may have too many ways to help people and not know where to start.
  • We’re bad at helping. Some of us just lack the subtlety or knowledge.

It’s not easy, is it? I’m sure you’re nodding mentally if not physically. I’ve experienced all of these, and can’t say I’ve handled all of them well.

The challenge of helping our fellow creatives is even more complicated in that some forms of help don’t “help.” Sure you want to help that artist exercise, but buying them a gift membership to a gym may create social pressure they don’t need. You might offer to cook for a writer who’s a bit occupied, and then promptly make food they don’t like. Help that doesn’t help just becomes another problem.

To assist you – and myself – I brainstormed some ideas. How can we help our fellow creatives?

Ask: Ask what someone needs. Guess what they may be fine and you’re worrying too much.

Buy Their Stuff: I mean that goes without saying.

Check In: Look, just say hi now and then. You may find it annoys the person or they need space, but at least you know.

Connect Them: If they’re open to it, introduce them to fellow creatives, customers, and resources.

Do A Task: Someone is busy with that art project? Then pick up food for them or give them a ride.

Get Resources: Outright give that creative a new pen kit or website subscription. Holidays and birthdays are great times to do this for people who don’t like to accept help.

Gift: That creative you want to support? Buy their books, comics, etc. and use them as gifts for people. Spread the word.

Helpful Resources: This doesn’t always work, but there’s lots of great advice books, web services, software, etc. This can help – but can also burden people with something they “have” to use. Be careful.

Involve Them: I’ve taken to seeing if my fellow creatives want to do panels and events. I don’t push it, but it’s a way to get them connected and involved and having fun.

Learn: When listening and doing all of these things, learn about them and yourself.

Listen: Sometimes folks just want to talk about their project and so on. They want someone to listen – not necessarily critique.

Pre-Read/Beta Read/Critique: Sort of goes without saying.

Provide Guidance WHEN ASKED: Sometimes people are bad at asking for help, but if someone asks how you do X, show them. Be careful of providing advice unasked, that can become another burden.

Provide Resources: That creative may need your editing skill, or to borrow your sewing kit or whatever. Be open to it – or offer.

Publicize: Tell people about that cosplayer, author, artist, etc. This promotes them, connects them, and may result in them getting money which is always good.

Take a Request: That person may need a ride, a trip, some help. If they ask, keep that in mind. I mean you know, be open to it.

I hope that was helpful. It certainly go me thinking about what I do – and shouldn’t do, and can do better.

Steven Savage

The Angel Is In The Action

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

We’ve often heard it said The Devil is in the Details, which is certainly true in writing. We can plot and outline all we want, but when one truly writes, that’s when we find out just how many unexpected details and findings can bedevil us. Writing is often overwhelming when we dive into a work because there’s so much we have to think about.

Worldbuilding is a prime example. No matter how much you plan, you’ll quickly ask questions, find holes, or create problems for yourself. Worldbuilding is challenging, and not everyone embraces it with the same (masochistic?) fervor as some.

Characters are another example. We’ve all had writing experiences where characters made up their minds to be different. These moments are delightful, but not so blissful is the realization 70% of your plans got tossed out.

Language is yet another example of bedeviling details when we write, in nonfiction or fiction. As you write, you keep putting yourself in the shoes of the audience – and we may find that we’re not wearing the right shoes. Creating something is a hellish chance to find that you’re not speaking to the proper audience, or you don’t know that audience as well as you’d like.

Our own outlines may cause us problems. We can see a beautiful map, a wonderful path, and then writing it down only brings out many confusing questions and issues. For some of us, the best laid plans don’t even get set down before they go wrong in our heads.

Any moment like these can derail us, confuse us, and make us despondent. We’re writing and our own writing is making us miserable.

A break may be in order, but let me suggest this – if the Devil is in the Details, then let’s keep going. The Angel is in the Action, as it were – moving forward we find salvation from our problems.

If we address the problems we find as best we can – even if taking a note to fix it later – we go on, accomplish things, and can revise work later. We may even find the problem can be revised elsewhere in our work.

If we keep writing, we’ll accomplish work, achieving both our goals and having a reminder of just what we can accomplish. By continuing to write, even when harassed by our own fear of details and fine points, we at least move forward and maintain our confidence.

If we work around our problems and fears and challenges, we may find we don’t even have to deal with them. Sometimes a retrospective reveals our fears weren’t an issue all along.

If nothing else, completing a work or a piece lets you revise it from a point of surety – even if you’re sure it’s not that good.

We don’t really learn something until we do it, and that includes fixing our stories or overcoming issues of missing detail. If we let the Devil hiding in the details get to us, we forget that it’s our work and we have the power to fix problems. Powering through, keeping going, lets us leave him behind, lets us find our Angel – be it a new idea, a solution, or a workaround.

Take action when writing frustrates you. Keep moving forward – even if it’s in circles. Maybe take a little break, but don’t let the Devil whisper in your ear you can’t do it. Find the Angel in your actions.

Steven Savage