Don’t judge anything that wants to live on the page. Start writing whatever comes to mind first, and don’t worry about where you start and where you finish.
Category: Writing Tips
Because I interact with many writers, I have a feeling that more than one person reading this right now is either experiencing their own dry spell or knows what it’s like. So I’d like to share with you some of the things that have helped me get back to writing after a dry spell, in hopes that they’ll be helpful for you now or in the future.
On July 25, 2019, I sent my first-ever query for the first book I’d ever written. I was positive it would sign in a heartbeat. Five months later, I received the 22nd rejection on that book and shelved the project. Less than half a year of querying doesn’t seem long—and in the grand scheme of a writing journey it’s merely a blip—but it was more than enough time to learn valuable lessons I needed to advance my writing career.
Ten years ago, I woke up with an idea. An idea I wasn’t sure how to make room for amidst other priorities. I wrote in starts and stops. Hills of progress. Valleys of neglect. Until one day, I emerged with a 85,000-word first draft.
Outlining opened up a world of possibilities for me. It allowed me to understand my characters and create a better world for them.
If you want to get your project written, you have to prioritize actually writing. Do your plot outline. Push the crap off your desk. But don’t get stuck getting ready to write instead of putting down one word after another.
A week after the final class, I received an email from the instructor. One of the other members of the class offered to open her home for a writing group. Was I interested? My heart was racing. Do I foster these relationships and make myself vulnerable, or keep writing on my own, safely?
Thinking critically and coming up with the right questions that get to the heart of a subject are a plotter’s best friend. This is especially true with worldbuilding.