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.
Are you afraid of running out of ideas? Don’t worry, the ideas will come.
Create a space for them and they will fill it. Begin typing until something pops up. It might take one or two pages. It might be days or weeks. Trust the process. Keep going. Don’t stop writing.
Meanwhile, fill the creative well. Go somewhere you’ve never been. It could be a corner of your own town. Watch people. Eat street food. Go to a secondhand shop. Play a video game. Color in an adult coloring book. Watch on old movie. Rearrange your writing space. Listen to music in another language. Stimulate your brain.
Suddenly you’ll feel like spilling over and the ideas will flood your pages.
Writing involves sitting and concentrating for hours at a time. Back aches, numb bottoms, and carpal tunnel syndrome can be distracting. One of the best ways to avoid these problems is to do exercise BEFORE you sit down to write.
Yoga was developed to prepare the body for long periods of stillness during meditation. Yoga also improves focus and blood flow to the brain. This makes it a perfect pre-writing routine.
If you’re feeling sleepy, try more vigorous forms of yoga like The 5 Tibetan Rites or Kundalini yoga. These are more energizing.
You can choose any kind of movement you like—burpees, jumping jacks, Zumba, a jog around the block. Anything to warm up the muscles and oxygenate the brain will do!
Do you ever get depressed without knowing what exactly is bothering you? Do you sometimes feel tired, restless, and not sure what to do with yourself? Maybe you find yourself spending too much time talking to your dog and checking your social media. You’re sick of your story and your characters and you don’t know why.
Now think about the last time you had a good chat or laugh
with someone. How long has it been?
Writers have a tendency to isolate themselves. We live inside our heads, but it’s medically proven that loneliness bad for us physically and mentally. It’s also bad for our craft. Staying isolated prevents us from being connected to the world and the people we write about.
Meet someone for coffee or a beer. Plan a dinner party. Call a close family member or friend. See how you feel afterward.
