Tag: writing process

Changing My Writing Game

I have to admit I was resistant to change. Stuck in my writing ways until I decided to try something new, and surprisingly, I must admit it has helped tremendously and I couldn’t be happier that it has.

Deviating from a writing practice that has over the years given me results was difficult. But as my writing has evolved so too must the process.

So, did I need to change my writing process? Or rather the way I thought about writing? What was the problem to begin with?

I will tell you.

The Problem.

First, I will admit that for months I would sit at the computer and…nothing. Maybe, if I was lucky, a sentence or two would reward my 3-4 hour effort. My imagination would be rich with plots, characters and scenes scratching at the seams of my frontal lobe trying to get out.

I would hold them there, believing until I had the entirety of the situation or it completely mapped out in my head then they couldn’t be free, they weren’t ready. Instead, I would or rather I have played with story ideas for months on end. Never knowing where to begin or exactly how it all should end.

Then whilst on lunch I stumbled upon a website offering writing tips. The suggestion was to start with an outline, line out characters, a beginning, and an ending.

I have never been an outline girl. During my college years, I preferred to sit, sweat, and bang on the keys in my anxiety induced madness and drive home a story or an essay in what I consider to be the old fashioned way.

I tend to let the plot and characters clumsily fall out of my head and onto the page.

Know the direction in which to take your story.

This seemed cumbersome, a huge waste of time and energy, then I thought ‘give it a try; what do you have to lose?’ If you try it and nothing happens but one or two sentences then you are exactly where you started but if you try it and complete a page or two then you have gained. It was a no loss or an all gain situation and I hestantily grabbed my notebook from my bag and put pen to paper.

I gave it a try and I am glad to say it worked.

For one of my manuscripts, having a defined starting point was a much needed Hail Mary pass. Creating an outline for Karen, has unburdened my mind of her and now I can focus on a more pressing project. One that has been rattling around in my brain and aging in my stories binder for two years. Armed with a weapon I initially refused to pick up, I am ready for battle. I am now ready to begin my novel and I do so renewed and prepared for what lies ahead.