Why do writers get worse?

An interesting thing happened to me a few months ago. I found it HARD to write.

I was like WTF!!?? This never happens!

Since the writing bug bit me when I was fourteen years old, I’ve written something most days. I’ve penned hundreds of stories, blogs and articles as well as quite a few novella’s and novels.

And I’ve NEVER had any issue just writing. For fiction, I’d imagine the story in my head and then just write it. For articles and blogs, I’d come up with the idea and then just write it.

But then I did a creative writing course.

And I started teaching creative writing and writing a book about it.

What I found is that I would start a story or an article, and realise it wasn’t good enough. I would stop and re-start from another angle. Then stop and re-start from another angle. And I got really frustrated.

Then I realised what it was. AND that it applies in a completely different way for writing.

Let me explain.

In the other half of my life, I design HR and management training. And one of the models that we use is the Dunning-Kruger effect to explain what happens when people start to build their knowledge.

This was developed by psychologists who tested students’ competence on humour, grammar and logic. They found the most competent students underrated themselves, and those who knew nothing rated themselves much higher.

And if you think about it, it happens a lot. You decide to try something new. You watch some youtube video’s and you think ‘this isn’t so hard’. You’re confident you can do it. It’s only after you try it a few times, you might start to realise there is some skill involved. And your confidence plunges.

This concept is important for skills like engineering, science, medicine and building work, to name a few. You don’t want to mistake ‘confidence’ for ‘competence’. You need to be aware of the Dunning-Kruger and test that people actually know what they are doing. And when you’re training people, you need to explain to them that they will be confident at the start, and then feel despair before they start to build again.

I had a builder once who was outgoing and confident.

Me: “Could you build a terrace at the back of our barn?”

Builder (who I later discovered was actually a plasterer and had done only a little decking): “Yeah no problem! Can have it done in two weeks!”

It wasn’t done in two weeks. It was never done, and I paid a lot of money for my mistake. He was at the peak of mount stupid, full of confidence, but had no experience.

With writing – many people pick up a pen and say “I’ll be writer – it looks easy!”

It’s only when they start to learn about writing techniques they realise “This is hard. My characters don’t feel real. My story arc’s not working. My inciting incident is rubbish….. argggh!!!”

They have to learn how to use writing techniques to build their skill. Then they can move up to being confident again (and with better writing skills).

BUT there is ONE IMPORTANT ELEMENT about this that’s missing.

Back when I was at the start of my knowledge journey, back when I knew nothing about my craft, when I was on the mountain of stupidity – I wrote enormous amounts. Most days. Writing was fun. I came up with a story and wrote it. I came up with a blog post and wrote it.

And looking back at it, while it needed work, it had that spark. That excitement in it of when you’re doing something you love.

When I trained in creative writing, and started teaching it and writing about it, I realised my own writing needed work and it blocked me. I restarted stories. I restarted blogs or articles. Every time I stopped because I thought ‘this isn’t right’. This isn’t meeting all the technical requirements I knew needed to be at the start of a story. It’s not good enough anymore.

I had lost my spark.

I see in happen with many authors. Their first novel or two might not be brilliant writing, but often they are fresh, they have a voice, they have style – they have that SPARK. Then they obviously learn how to write better and their books become more serious, and well structured, and well written, but without that JOY. That LIFE. The writing might be better but they feel orchestrated. And I stop reading them. Then a few years go by and a new novel comes out and I think ‘I’ll just try it’ and HOORAY! The spark is back! The book is a joy to read.

AND HERE’S WHAT I REALISED.

While learning about writing will improve your writing – you need to forget all the technical stuff for a while. You need to remember the joy of just writing without worrying that this character doesn’t have a background yet, or you have too much dialogue, or your exposition needs work.

Just write it. Enjoy writing it!

And then later, when it’s finished – then you can go back and edit and hone it. Using all those lovely writing techniques you know about. But the story or the article should still have the SPARK.

If you get really technical too soon, I think you lose that joy. You blow away that magic sparkle dust that makes writing sing.

So have some fun. Just write because you love it.

Just write to see words on the paper.

Climb to the top of the peak of ‘Mt Stupid’ and look out with happiness.

I did, and my writing started to flow again.

And once you’ve written it, then of course you can edit. Then you can refine it.

But just write it, and enjoy writing it!

It’s my personal theory this must be what happens to other authors. At some point they must realise they need to go back to when writing was fun. And that’s when I want to read them again.

That’s why I think AI’s aren’t going to produce great literature. They might be fully trained in writing techniques, but they’ll never do it for fun.

I’d love to hear if you agree, or disagree. Has this article inspired you to start writing?