There Are No Shortcuts

I know it's annoying, but there's no easy way to write books. There are, however, a couple tricks to finding your way.

“Paint By Numbers” photo by Todd Lappin, via Flickr

My latest novel ANIMAL INSTINCT is about a woman rediscovering her desire in midlife — it’s been called a best book of the year by NPR, Oprah Daily, and more. You can order it here. And hey, if you do get a copy, DM me your receipt and I’ll comp you a paid subscription to this very newsletter, Writing on the Verge (this gives you access to alllll the archives, which otherwise get paywalled after a month) ✨✨✨✨✨

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You would think I would know by now how to write a book.

I’m working on my sixth novel. Or actually! — if we’re including the unpublished ones — this would be my ninth. I’ve gotten an MFA, I’ve gone to retreats and residencies, I’ve read craft books, I’ve taught 80,000,000 (approx) writing workshops. Surely by now I have some foolproof method, right? A silver-bullet outlining system, a killer formula, a software I swear by?

The terrible or maybe wonderful truth is that each time I write a novel, I have to learn from scratch how to write that novel.

That novel. Because with novels—the way I write novels anyway—each one is its own process, and has its own needs. There is no formula. There is no magical cheat code.

Frustrating! But also, honestly, I think it’s actually a good thing. If there were one easy way to write a novel, all novels would be pretty similar, wouldn’t they? And part of the weird magical joy of the creative process is that very act of figuring the thing out, right? Isn’t that where the art lies? Like, think of the difference between a Helen Frankenthaler painting and a paint-by-numbers kit.