A Jump-Start for Writing

I know that a lot of us have been struggling with writing. I've been writing a lot more consistently now that I have another notebook to haul around with me. Tyler saw it and said in mild disbelief, "Another one?" I'm planning on typing it up in chapters, so that means I'll try to spend some time up in a dark corner in my room revising chapter two before I type it up tomorrow.

So this post is more about getting back into a writing funk. I need this just as much as- or more- than you two followers. So here we go:

1. Write in what interests you. How many times have we heard that? But I think it needs to be a litlte more extreme: Write about something so interesting that you can work on it for months at a time, then go back to it and still be ready to help every word.

2. Think about what's happening right now. Usually I'm really excited for the next chapter or even the end of the book; or maybe I just want to write that one line in chapter five. As a result, I feel like the current part of my book drags, completely empty of conflict. (Of course, I once got writer's block while trying to make my character jump off a horse because I wanted to get to the next chapter. Writing can be so unpredictable sometimes.) Don't spend 100% of your time plotting out for the future, like I have a tendency to do; make some conflict in the moment and make each page memorable.

3. Don't hold your characters in concrete. Do you want to know what my first version of Realms was like? No, you don't. It was still that total chaos of trying to work out writing in mind. But those moments in my first draft are what defines the storyline now. In the first book, I introduced a character, then decided two chapters later that he was a phoenix. I also added a receptionist at the desk that could grow plants at will in the first draft at book three, and he became a major character in book one. Whatever you have planned for your book can easily change. Writing is a balance of a solid plot and flexible characters. If you have to choose between the two, hand your characters the reins and brace yourself for the disaster.

4. Finish your writing. Ending the book is always a huge milestone. No one can tell you the absolutely perfect way to write; people have been trying to find it for centuries. You have to find your own style. (Though an overly preachy teenage writer's blog might be some help.)

I hope that everyone can work out their writing issues! Best of luck to all of you!

Kirah
(ps. If anyone wants me to talk about anything or post something about writing that isn't preachy, let me know! Leave a comment/email me!)