Finding Your Writing Form

You’ve wanted to write for years, and now, yes, now, you finally step up to the pen. You’re ready to go.

But what to write? You have some ideas but aren’t sure about the form. Blog post? Personal essay? Poetry, or perhaps a novella?

I remember this confusion when I embarked on my writing life in 1994. I felt the desire to write but had no idea where to start.

Luckily, I discovered Natalie Goldberg. The free writing method allowed me to get my words on paper first, then figure out what form they’d take.

With that freedom, I explored:

• Poetry
• Personal essays
• Survey articles
• How-to articles
• Performance pieces
• Plays
• Screenplays
• Novel

Almost every newbie writer I’ve encountered has this same dilemma. I encourage them to start with free writing and let the content inform the structure.
Projects will veer away from your original vision

My novel Chasing Sylvia Beach took its own multi-genre path. I began with three-minute performance pieces about her. In one I played with the concept of motherhood, claiming that Sylvia was the mother of Ulysses. In another, I did improvisation, asking the audience for words that I incorporated into stories about Sylvia.

I attempted playwriting. But when I couldn’t have a scary Nazi car drive up onstage, I realized the limitations of that form.

I’ve always wanted to see Sylvia’s story as a film, so I took a screenwriting class, naively believing that I wrote dialogue well and that this form would be easy. But no, the limitations of screenwriting were immediately clear when I saw I couldn’t express the inner thoughts of my characters on the page.

Enter the novel. At a writing retreat, I penned a free write. The teacher said, “That sounds like the beginning of a novel!” Encouraged, I began the 12-year journey to bring Sylvia’s story to light.

Along the way it morphed considerably, going from a straight-up story about Sylvia to one that involves a modern-day woman who travels back in time to meet Sylvia.

It went from taking place during the Nazi Occupation to being set just before World War II. It changed from being about Sylvia’s life to being about the main character, Lily, and her quest for her own empowerment.

Finding your form

Many new writers and artists struggle with this: once you start working on a project, you have to surrender some control. The project itself will start to exert an influence, and you will have no choice but to pay attention and work with, rather than against, what the art actually wants to be.

Become an expert in trying new forms and new avenues until you find the one that suits your talents and your subject matter.

Be willing to relinquish tight control over your perceived outcome. Recognize and enjoy the fluidity of the creative process, stay committed, and enjoy your talent.

How does this notion of shifting forms help you create? When have you allowed yourself to be fluid and how has it paid off?