Here’s the thing about creative energy: it can dry up.
Writing is an amazing act of courage and creation, and it takes a lot out of us. All too often, we run out of steam, and usually at the worst possible moments—when we have a deadline, a story to finish, a publisher breathing down our necks, or even just our own internal editor’s demands.
The good news: it happens to us all.
The better news: there’s a way out. Read on.
Have you ever felt like you needed help with your writing process, but didn’t know where to turn? Perhaps you’re new to this writing thing, or you’ve been too scared to tell anyone what you’re working on.
Or, if you’re like me, you’ve spent so much time in the writing process, so much time writing, editing, pitching, and educating yourself on the process that you truly believe you’ve done all you can possibly do on your own.
What should you do now?
I’m beginning a long season of travel. Yesterday, I got home from California, where I had a few meetings and spent time with family. In July, I’ll be in Portland for World Domination Summit (if you’ll be there, let me know!). In August, there’s Plywood Presents in Atlanta, and the Tribe Writers conference in Nashville, where I’ll be speaking (you should come!).
What this means for me is that I have to explain what I do for a living a lot. It’s not easy, at least for me. I am a writer, yes, but what does that really mean?
Within the last week, I’ve completed the final round of revisions on my fantasy novel and started querying agents. Here’s what I’ve learned.
Woo! Huzzah! Happy dances all around.
![“The Change” by Tom Farr [story]](https://thewritepractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/the-change.png)
Earlier this month, sixty writers submitted stories to the Wordhaus Writing contest, which we co-hosted with Wordhaus Literary Magazine. Today, I’m honored to present the winning story, “The Change” by Tom Farr. Wordhaus has published the finalists, and so make sure to subscribe to their magazine here. If you’d like to participate in future contests like this, make sure to sign up for the Becoming Writer waiting list. We will be re-opening the community on Monday. Enjoy the story!
“Write what you know.” We hear it all the time as writers, just as often as we hear “kill the adverbs,” “don’t disregard the first draft,” and all of the other common tips about writing. But while writing what you know is definitely useful in one sense, writing what you don’t know can be just as rewarding. Here’s why.
