Why You Shouldn’t Just Check Boxes in Writing
The world has become a series of checked boxes. From daily chores to professional obligations, and even in our social lives, it feels like we’re navigating our existence by completing tasks only to move on to the next one. Such is life, and such is writing.
Welcome, Timmy, welcome to another session of “Rant with Professor Wulf.” No need to get up; this is going to be valuable, I promise. But I can’t help but rant. Why? Because in my self-learning journey, I’ve encountered countless individuals merely checking boxes in their work. They create a list of tasks, fulfill those tasks, and then seem to consider their job done. I believe this to be a mistake, Timmy.
Whether stemming from insecurity, repetition, or sheer habit (and I confess I’ve been guilty of all three), it seems that every author producing content today feels like a carbon copy of one another, merely checking boxes in their careers. While it’s not inherently wrong, it doesn’t quite feel right either.
Observing the output of this current crop of authors, who are the loudest voices in the scene right now, it appears as though they’re churning out the same work in the same fashion, checking the boxes of theme, plot, characters, etc. Consider this a plea for anyone who comes across this to resist falling into the same pattern.
Because you can parrot the same talking points over and over, but when you sit down to write, one of two things will happen. You’ll either produce something stale and inorganic, as palatable as fast food from certain chains, or deep within, a rebellion will stir. Your inner voice will insist that something is amiss, and then you’re in very real danger of quitting for good.
Take a moment to stop and breathe, Timmy. Don’t panic. I’m not here to offer reassurance but to share some cold, hard truths. You can have all your boxes checked, but at the end of the day, when you’re writing, your story will grow on its own. Forcing it into predefined boxes will kill its spirit.
This is precisely why I’m vehemently opposed to the sticky note method of outlining; it feels like a cage for your characters. Sure, there are authors who are hardcore outliners, but they don’t outline to shoehorn the story into a mold. Instead, they first write the story in the outline and then craft the full narrative with all the bells and whistles. Writing transcends the rigid boxes that many seem adamant about confining it to.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to writing. Planning a novel is a different game from actually writing it, and when you sit down, you have to expect that a lot of your work will amount to nothing in the end. Oh, what’s that? You were expecting your neatly checked boxes to make it a straightforward process? Well, tough luck, Timmy; this has no set path.
As I’ve mentioned before, and I’ll reiterate so it sinks in once and for all: you can have all the preparation, all the advice you could possibly need, and check all the boxes for every scene, plot point, and character journey. But once you start writing, most of it will be blown away. You’ll have tools that you’ll never use, tools that you’ll use occasionally, tools you need but don’t have, and so on.
You can’t conquer the process; you can only master it. You can’t make it any less difficult; you can only ease the way and hope for the best. Just checking boxes won’t suffice because it will not only kill the spirit of the story but also stifle your creative spirit. And, Timmy, that is a crime.
Until next time.
