Over the weekend, I was overwhelmed by the amount of editing I had to complete, and the amount of rewriting that needed to be done. So, I did what any rational human being would do. I procrastinated by spiraling into an all-consuming internet wormhole. During this spiral, I found a YouTube interview with Cheryl Strayed where she talked about being a “Binge Writer.” As a recovering binge eater, at first, that didn’t sound right. Once I got over what the word binge means to me, I totally understood what she meant.

Writers who aspire to be paid get bombarded with“how-to be a better writer” tutorials, writing rules that super famous authors follow, that we end up feeling that if we aren’t following them all then we are not real writers. I respect Cheryl's sentiment: accept the type of writer that you are. We can’t all find the same three hours to write in every day or write in the same space, at the same time, wearing the same clothes after having the same breakfast. We write when we can, where we can and how we can. The video inspired me to analyze the type of writer I am. I briefly described my approach to writing in this post.

But the video led me to label myself as an Economic Writer. I feel more energized in my writing, more present if I come to it with a clear picture of what I want to put on the page. I hate wasting my writing time. I hate writing nonsense in search of inspiration. To ensure that my writing time is productive I have taken to reading before I write. In my short time as a fiction writer, I have realized that this inspires more writing than staring at my computer screen.

The Economic Writer is frugal with their words, careful with their plotting, and open to detours. We focus on word counts because we don’t want to spend hours writing and end up cutting most of it out. We would rather stop what we're typing, reassess its worth, and then make a decision whether we should continue or not. The Economic Writer mulls things over for hours before we commit to putting them down on paper (taking notes is a life saver! Words can be so fleeting.) Outlining is also a critical tool. You can read all about how Trello helps me here. The outlining process can be as intense or flexible as needed to suit your personality. For me, it needs to provide a clear roadmap for my chapters. That way when I inevitably get lost in my characters lives, I can use it to find my way back. It also helps prevent a thousand word detour. You might be wondering, but isn’t that limiting your creativity?

No! It helps me focus it. I still lose myself in my characters. When the writing is flowing, it feels like an out of body experience. Maybe more like I am watching a great movie. If the movie is terrible, I turn it off and start browsing (my outline or books) for something better to watch. Then I press play again and type away.

Just for fun, try to take some time to reflect on the type of writer you are. I definitely encourage you to create your own category if necessary. Also, please remember I am not getting paid for my writing, but once I am wildly successful, I will for sure write a book about Writing Commandments. Just kidding. Except I am serious.

Thanks for reading,

Raquel Garcia