Three Ways to Bust Writing Boredom

Have you ever been bored by your own writing? Have you ever thought about your book, only to feel dread and a desire to procrastinate? Here’s the first thing to do when you meet this predicament: Don’t panic.

Photo by Kristina Alexanderson (Creative Commons)

This is normal. In fact, it’s expected. Most writers start to hate their book by the time they reach the middle. Usually when you begin writing a book (though not always), you know what’s going to happen at the beginning and what’s going to happen at the end. With the middle, most writers wing it.

This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, this isn’t a good thing, either. It just is. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to add a little excitement—or at least mild pleasure—back into your writing. Here are three options.

1. Change your font

This is simple, easy, and fun. Anyone would get sick of Times New Roman after 30,000 words. It’s boring, repetitive, and—well, there’s no other word for it—blah.

Change up your font every couple chapters. Try the cutesy Kristen ITC or the romantic Blackadder ITC. Or maybe you can go for something fun, like Jokerman.

There are thousands of fonts out there waiting to be discovered. So go out there and discover them!

2. Make your letters HUGE

This tricks your brain into thinking you’re making triple the amount of progress. If you’re using size twelve, step it up to size eighteen. You’d be surprised at the difference it makes.

(But do not check your word count. That’ll just set you way back. I mean it. Don’t do it!)

3. Write for You

Who did you start writing for at the very beginning? I’ll sure as heck bet that it wasn’t your mom, or your dad, or your little sister, and it definitely wasn’t for that guy in Ohio who’s been commenting on your blog for a while now.

A lot of writers lose sight of what really matters—that writing makes you happy. Why else would you be doing it? If you’re in it for the money, I hate to break it to you, but there are so many better ways to do it.

Don’t write what you think other people will like. Write what you like. And if you’re passionate enough about it, other people will like it, too. I promise.

What are your tricks to busting writing boredom? I’d love to hear them!

PRACTICE

Freewrite for fifteen minutes using one of the tricks above. What trick did you use? Did it help any? If you wish, post your practice in the comments. Be sure to give your fellow writers a little love, too. Have fun!

The Magic Violinist

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The Magic Violinist is a young author who writes mostly fantasy stories. She loves to play with her dog and spend time with her family. Oh, and she's homeschooled. You can visit her blog at themagicviolinist.blogspot.com. You can also follow The Magic Violinist on Twitter (@Magic_Violinist).