I love to write. So I thought I’d use my update this week to share with you how I go about it. The start point is fairly basic. I ask myself, “What will I write about this week and do I have anything to say on the topic that would be useful?” Nothing is more useless than prattle that inspires nothing. When I write, I like to have something to share that’s meaningful. So what’s my approach to writing?
I like to tell stories when I write. I think about an opening idea and a closing argument that takes me back to the beginning. I like interesting titles that will catch a person’s eye and are thought-provoking when connected with the arguments I make in the body of the work. Sometimes, I like to craft a phrase that has a hidden meaning until you uncover it while reading through the piece.
I also keep my updates to no more than 800 words. Why? Because that is usually the length of an opinion piece most editors in newspapers can tolerate. But there’s another purpose. When you limit your words to a set number, it brings discipline to the editing process to reduce wordiness or, frankly, useless phraseology. Like, “frankly, useless phraseology.” I’m sure you appreciate the point.
Honestly, I actually look forward to doing a good edit of a piece or a chapter, even one I think I like as it is. Why? Because you can always make it better. I just started another book, as a matter of fact, and I’m four chapters into that work. And I have found that when I stop at a certain place in a chapter, I often go back to the beginning and read again what I originally wrote. I do this for three reasons. First, I inevitably find mistakes. I’m a lousy typist. Second, I improve what I have written along the way to be clearer, or possibly insert an additional citation to strengthen a point. Third, this helps me build momentum to resume writing where I had previously stopped. Then I’m able to launch into a new section with what I wrote before, fresh in my mind. I just can’t resume from a cold start. I have to warm up to it.
So do I use outlines? Only when someone holds a gun to my head. My style of writing is episodic, a stream of consciousness, which is why when I write, I do so alone. If I’m interrupted—poof—the idea may go up in smoke. I see this “streaming” as a gift, really. I like to think my way through the process and using an outline is, well, limiting to me. Yes, sometimes I do use an outline, particularly when I have enumerated points to make. But I rarely put “meat on the bones” of that outline because—for me—even that seems limiting. Does this make sense to you? If not, you’re probably an inveterate lover of outlines. Happy “outlining”.
On occasion, people will say to me “I would really like to write a book, but I just don’t have the discipline! How do I start?” The answer—for me—is easy. Write. Just Write. Anything. Blather, nonsense, disjointed thoughts, gobbledygook, but above all, start writing. You will get to a point when things start to jell for you and voila! You’ve begun. Some call this problem “writer’s block.” I call it an excuse not to begin.
There is book in each and everyone of us. It just has to find a way to escape your head and arrive at your keyboard. I think this is particularly so of men and women who have been in combat. Naturally, I have a special interest here. Writing about combat is especially important, not only for the history, but the lessons learned, the examples derived, and the truth it reveals. When I wrote Desert Redleg, it was the most cathartic thing I ever did. It wasn’t easy to shape that narrative because it contained both good and bad memories. But it had to be told and it fell on me to tell it. As I recently said to a friend about writing the book, “You can’t be worried about whose Christmas list you’re on. You have to tell the truth.”
Finally this. The valediction I use to conclude my CWB Updates is Scribendo Cogito, or “I think by writing.” But that’s not the whole Roman saying. It is preceded by Docendo Disco, “I learn by teaching.” I only use the last half because I don’t think of myself as a teacher. That is for better people. But I do try to think about things in a serious manner, which is why it’s my fondest hope that you enjoy what I write.
PS: Take a look at the recent Webinar I did with the Association of the US Army on my book. I am sure you will like it!
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