[The World on the Page] Four Reasons Why Writings Remain Unfinished

The Challenges of Consistent Writing
Influenced by Four Factors:
Ideas, Sentences, Structure, and Skill
Cultivate Discernment but Beware of Perfectionism
Above All, Never Give Up

As an editor, I have met countless writers. Some continue to write steadily, infusing their work with their own strength, regardless of whether the world recognizes them or not. However, most writers give up halfway or fall into a slump, leading to long periods of inactivity. Every year, dozens become writers through literary magazines or new writer contests, but only about five or six continue to receive commissions and publish books even ten years later. Writing consistently is that slow, lonely, and arduous a task.

Taiwanese writer Chen Xue, who is frequently nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, shares in his autobiographical essay Only for Writing (Geulhangari) how he tried to become a "diligent writer and competent writing laborer." For ten years after his debut, Chen Xue took on various "tasks that could earn money through writing" to make a living, while giving up all entertainment and social activities to live a diligent and frugal life focused on writing his novel.

It is impossible to remain a writer without creating a routine devoted solely to reading and writing books and practicing self-discipline to align one’s life through repetitive training. Surviving writers write not with their heads but with their bottoms. Only through rigorous self-discipline?writing daily for a set amount of time and becoming one with the chair?can a person transform into a writer.

The problem is that sitting at a desk does not automatically produce work. More than anything, there are too many times when no suitable ideas come to mind. Staring at a blank screen and struggling often leads to the realization that inside, there are only trivial thoughts and clich?d ideas seen somewhere before, causing frequent frustration. Even when a decent idea does come up, continuing the writing to the end is extremely difficult. Most often, writers jot down a few lines, get tired of scribbling, and stop.

But it’s not just us. Writers experience the same. While unrefined writing overflows on social media or blogs, professional writers who must produce quality work often discard more writing than they publish. Most of the day is spent writing and deleting, with most drafts never filling even a few lines before being discarded. In a corner of their computers, writers usually keep a collection of “unfinished writings.” Poet Lee So-ho, in Writing Thoughts, Living Excuses (Minumsa), summarizes four reasons why some works remain unfinished.

First, a piece started with a single idea is rarely easy to finish. Brilliant and novel ideas are important because they attract readers’ interest. However, ideas are just ideas. "If you rely too heavily on ideas rather than reflection, you are likely to give up on the entire piece at some point." No matter how sparkling the idea, if it does not firmly combine with the writer’s reflection, it is difficult to become a publishable work. This is especially true in literature, where a work must contain the writer’s unique sensibility and reflection rather than universal thoughts that everyone can understand and relate to. Without this, the work ultimately remains incomplete.

Second, if only one sentence in the writing is good, the work cannot be completed. Writers sometimes get fixated on a single sentence that suddenly comes to mind and fail while trying to shape the work around it. In such cases, the writer must make a decisive cut like a surgeon. To prevent "a truly important and necessary sentence" or "a sentence that represents my heart" from "dying inside a poorly written work," one must boldly cut it out and start over from the beginning. Those who cannot discard their works find it hard to become good writers.

Third, when the overall picture is drawn incorrectly from the start and scenes and narrative are developed based on that. The poet says, "No matter how much you polish it, the volume is already fixed, and there is no potential for growth." Whether poetry or novels, to complete a work, the overall length and structure must be kept in mind while writing. If you obsess over details, you end up with "a straw hut like the first little pig" instead of "a brick house like the third little pig." Such clumsy and sloppy writing tends to get worse the more you work on it. In such cases, it is better to tear it down and start anew.

Fourth, lack of skill. Sometimes, you start excited with good material and themes, but as you write, you feel you have not studied enough or lack experience to continue. The fourth case still holds hope. Goethe’s Faust fits here. He began it in his youth and refined it throughout his life while writing other works. He kept it tucked away in his desk, occasionally taking it out to read and revise bit by bit. He waited until his experience and study deepened enough to know how to improve the writing. The poet says:

"If there is something I have felt as a writer, it is that as long as I do not give up, these writings are not dead. They are alive. I am convinced that ‘unfinished writings’ are not just collections of failures. Because they are incomplete, they also have the potential to become unknown masterpieces. No matter how long it takes, let us place hope in the fact that these writings can definitely become something. Since I was the one who started them, I will surely be able to bring about a wonderful conclusion with my own hands."

The true talent of a writer may lie in the ability to write consistently while knowing when to stop and when to start again. Those without discernment about their own writing find it difficult to become good writers. However, excessive self-blame and perfectionism are harmful. They can trap a writer in the so-called "writer’s block." Writer’s block refers to the despair and fear that cause one to give up writing halfway or become unable to write at all. Many poets and writers, including Herman Melville, Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf, and Joanne Rowling, have wandered and despaired before the writer’s block, struggling with or abandoning writing.

Looking at this, good writers need friends. Editors who consistently provide opportunities and encouragement, and acquaintances who expect nothing but good writing, are essential to overcoming the writer’s block. Chen Xue says, "My friends never demanded anything from me. They seemed to constantly remind me of this fact: I just need to live well while writing, there is no need to do anything deliberately, and I am someone worthy of love." Without those who offer generous friendship to writers navigating periods of doubt and despair, good literature cannot be born.

Jang Eun-su, Publishing Culture Critic