by Guest Blogger |
I have been opposed to outlining since childhood. I distinctly remember a time in middle school when I was required to write essays and turn in my outline as well. I couldn’t do it.
The necessity of the outline had a paralyzing effect on me—I couldn’t write anything if I had to know everything I was going to write beforehand. I took bad grades on good essays because I refused to do the outline. (To me, that’s like taking points off a bicyclist at the Tour de France for not using training wheels, but my teacher didn’t see it that way.)
I know many writers who say they can’t write without an outline. While it can help people organize their thoughts, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary for anyone.
by Pamela Fernuik |
Our past writing can keep us from writing now. We may feel discouraged and not write if we think our past writing was horrible. Or maybe we think we were brilliant and not write because we feel we can never write that well again. Or maybe we think we are better at being typists for our cats than we are at writing our own stories.
I met a writer last week, Sheila, who destroyed her past writing. She told me she had just shredded everything she ever wrote—journals, poetry, and short stories. I asked her if she still had the shredded paper. I wanted it.
by Monica M. Clark |
Running a marathon is a lot like writing a novel. Both are long-term goals that require incredible patience and discipline to achieve. In fact, I find myself applying lessons from my marathon training to novel writing all the time.
When I first decided to train for a marathon, the idea of running a million miles was overwhelming. It was enough to make me want to quit on the spot.
You might feel the same way about writing a book. Apply these marathon training lessons to your writing, and you’ll be able to persevere to the end.
by Joe Bunting |
Seven weeks ago, I accepted a challenge to finish my book by September 2, and if I miss my deadline, I have to give $1,000 to the presidential candidate I despise. More on the challenge and other productivity hacks for writers here.
Today, I’ll share an update on my progress, and what I’m learning through the process.
by Pamela Fernuik |
Do you have a book inside of you?
No, I didn’t mean, “Did you eat a book?” I meant, “Is there a book you have always wanted to write?”
I have several books inside of me. And they will stay inside of me until I can figure how to write a first draft.
by Ruthanne Reid |
Have you ever seen an expert do something so brilliantly that they made it look easy? Writing is like that.
Here’s the thing: when our favorite authors write, they sit down and they write and they make it look easy. We see (or imagine) their facile skill with words and phrases, and we think, I want to do that. For a while, we even feel like we can do that. But when we put words down . . . well, they just don’t come out like that.
The truth is, though, no writing is wasted—not even your worst words, the pages that will never see the light of day.
