Have a Little Fling on the Side

Torn between two lovers?

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Should you or shouldn’t you?

No, I’m not advocating that you take a lover—though writing can be as demanding and wonderful as one—I’m talking about side writing and whether or not you should indulge in it. I’m all for it, but not everyone is—some people think it’s a waste of precious writing time and energy. I’m here to convince you that it is not. But first, let’s get a definition.

What is Side Writing?

I’m not talking about side projects or side hustles here either. I’m talking about side writing—when you write about your current WIP (work in progress) rather than write in it. You turn to side writing when you get stalled on your draft. Maybe you don’t know what the next scene should be. Or you feel that something is wrong but you don’t know what (often the cause of getting stalled). Or you don’t know something about your character’s backstory and thus she feels one-dimensional, somehow lacking.

It’s times like these that side writing will save you. Whenever I get stuck in my writing, I pull out my journal and write about the problem. It’s not always magic, but it often is. And even when side writing is not magical, I usually get some gem or another from it. When it is magic, I can end up writing whole scenes in my journal, or a character’s entire origin story. Or even a blog/newsletter post. (Today would be such a day. This morning I set to my journal to write about a character who is giving me trouble and the idea for this post tumbled out.)

The Benefits

I’ve already talked about how much I like side writing, but I’ll note some specifics in order to convince you:

—If you’re a plotter, it brings the energy of pantsing to your pages. (Refresher: plotters plan things out in advance, while pantsers write with no plan.) Side writing is by its nature free and loose (more on that in a minute) and it can lead you places you hadn’t thought of while you painstakingly planned your outline.

—You can figure things out on the page. Which is, after all, what writing is about. As Joan Didion put it, “I don’t know what I think until I write it down.” Side writing helps you figure out what you think—about your WIP and so much more.

—It’s a place to vent. The writing life takes courage and heart and it can be easy to lose both in the onslaught of life. Turn to your side writing when this happens and let it out on the page. The cool thing about this is that once you get that gunk cleared out of your brain, you’ll often find yourself writing about your project.

The Drawbacks

—You can make side writing more important than “real” writing. Because, after all, it is easier. You’re just writing, la la la la, nothing to see here but rainbows and unicorns and lollipops, its all fun! None of this worrying about craft scenes or writing dialogue that rings true or thinking about structure. Nope, none of that.

—You can go off on tangents that have little to do with your story. Side writing can pull you down paths that seem brilliant at the time but don’t stand up when you attempt to add them to your story. And to this I say, yes, problem, but also—nothing is ever wasted in writing. And also—better in side writing than the actual draft.

—By its nature, side writing can entice you to start a new project. Say you’re in the messy middle and as you side write to try to figure your way out of it, a new idea occurs. Squirrel! When you are stalled, the lure of the new is powerful. Easy solution: save those notes and remind yourself you will return to them when you’re done with this WIP. Said the woman who has an untold number of half-finished stories on her computer.

How to Side Write

First of all, there are no rules. It’s it’s putting pen to paper and having at it. But I can give you some guidelines.

—Free write. Define your problem (I don’t understand Nora’s upbringing), open a notebook and write. Don’t censor yourself, don’t stop, let the words flow across the page.

—Use a prompt. You can use any of the gazillion prompts you’ll find on the internet (I have a bunch here). Don’t let the fact that these are non-specific to your WIP stop you—the point of a prompt is to be a starter. It’s to get you going. Let it lead you where you need to go. Or you can design your own prompt. Take the last line of the last scene you wrote and use it as a prompt. Write the character’s name as a prompt. Ask yourself what the problem is, as noted above, and let the words flow.

—Make notes. Notes and lists count! Telling yourself you’re just scribbling notes or making a list takes the pressure off the need to be clever and creative and can lead to all kinds of insights. I wrote about making lists here.

If you’re smarter and more organized than I am, you’ll dedicate one specific notebook, or a section of your writer’s notebook, for all the notes and lists and side writing related to your WIP. A tip for organization: once you’ve mined the free writing on a notebook page, cross it off so you don’t drive yourself crazy wondering if you’ve missing something of brilliance.

Okay, that’s it, I hope this inquiry into side writing is helpful to you. Please leave a comment and tell me—are you pro or con? Do you have a side writing process I’ve missed? I’m all ears.

I HAVE A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.

I’m planning my first workshop for paid subscribers. It will be sometime in September after everyone has gotten back into their routines and the topic is going to be, wait for it: Plotting for Pantsers and Pantsing for Plotters. Several of my clients requested this and I cannot wait to dig in. When it comes to plotting and pantsing, most will convince you that never the twain shall meet. But I think each camp has much to offer the other and that often a middle road is the best. I’ll explain all in the workshop!

When you subscribe at the $8 a month level, you’ll get access to this class and others I’ll offer monthly going forward. Founding members get a one-on-one coaching session upon sign-up!

Also, I can help you with your side writing and your real writing and anything related to writing and getting words on the page. A couple of my clients have gone on hiatus so I have room for two more writers on my roster. This could take the form of ongoing book coaching, or a manuscript evaluation. If you’re interested, drop a comment. Or reply to this post if it comes into your inbox.

Happy last days of summer!