Don’t approach you’re writing with the mindset that someday you’ll write something incredible. Now is your time. Today could be the day you write that story that gets you the big break you’ve been waiting for.
The words you write today could be the beginnings of your best work. They might bring you to the person you need to meet, or the publication that gets you in front of the right eyes.
They might deliver you to the reader who becomes your biggest fan. You never know when you’re going to write the words that change everything.
All you have to do is show up.
Take care of your body and your brain so that you have the best chance. Get in that chair and do the work.
Be ready because today might be the day!
What are you working on right today? Share it on our Facebook page or tag us on Instagram.
Have you entered our short story contest? Get your stories ready. The deadline is June 21st, 2019. LEARN MORE.
Are you avoiding a certain story? Yeah, you know the one. That messy jumble of words fermenting in your computer. The one you wrote in a manic whirlwind, salivating and wild eyed. The one that you just read and makes you want to cry.
The first draft of anything is shit, as good old Hem used to say. It’s a rough chunk of wood you must whittle and smooth.
Read your manuscript again and again. Try to discern its shape. Think about what it wants to say. Then rewrite. Omit. Replace. Add the fine details. Sand the edges. Refine the message.
Ernest Hemingway — ‘The first draft of anything is shit.’
Is it all work and no play until you hit the bestsellers list? What about your small victories?
It’s important to enjoy the journey to publication and celebrate our wins along the way—whether it’s a new story idea, a 2,000 word sprint, or the resolution of a plot hole.
After a good writing run, give yourself a hug. Post your accomplishment on social media. Put on your favorite music, jump from your chair, and have your own dance party.
Have you ever gotten halfway through writing a story and reached a dead zone?
No matter what you did, you couldn’t get past it and just gave up?
If you really didn’t think it was worth finishing (I mean, I don’t believe
it, but it could happen), don’t trash it. It may just not be the right time for
that story.
Put it away until you can bear to look at it again. Banish it from your mind
and work on something else. When you come back to it, you might know what to
do.
If you exhume it and decide that it’s truly hopeless, dismantle the draft and use it for spare parts.
Is there a good character you can use in another story?
An interesting setting?
A great line?
Create a writing junkyard. Salvage little treasures and use them to seed other stories.
