Posted on by Janet Eriksson

Why Questions Are Part of the Writing Process

You sit down to write your book. Instead of words flowing, questions pop up. When did that happen? What led to that event? Where was that located? Who might remember the details? Where can I find answers?

Soon, you might feel that your writing progress has stopped, and the need for Q&A has taken over. But questions are part of the writing process. They don’t signal your project is on hold. Questions let you know your writing is moving ahead.

Questions are not a distraction. They are part of your writing path. Photo by Massimo Virgilio at Unsplash

Every writing project, from business books to novels, will likely generate some questions as you write. You might need to look up dates, names, or remember who said what. Perhaps you’ll be curious if other research supports your ideas. Maybe you need to learn how a particular process is done, or what life was like at a certain place during a particular time period. You might take time to fact-check a quote you want to include in your book.

There’s one kind of writing that seems to generate lots of questions, and that’s family history. Writers of family history often ask when and where something happened, who was there, or why the family made a particular decision. Answering those questions might involve calling relatives, looking at old photos, searching records. Those steps are not distractions from writing. They are all part of the writing process.

Finding answers to questions is part of many writing projects, especially family history. Photo by Joanna Kosinska at Unsplash

As questions pop up, keep a list. Decide which questions need answers before you can write further. Put other questions on hold if you can write around them. Leave a highlighted space to fill in what’s missing.

If your writing project keeps raising questions, it’s means you’re on the right track. You’re thinking carefully and trying to write the story well. That’s exactly what thoughtful writers do. Let those questions assure you that you’re making progress on your book.

Take five minutes today to write down three questions your project has raised. Instead of seeing them as a distraction, look at those questions as clues that show you where your story will go next. Writing is a journey, one step, one clue, one discovery at a time.