I stumbled upon a great writing tip on reddit yesterday. It’s an old tip to most writers, but to novices like me, it is an eye-opener. It was a subtle reminder that what I am currently working on is a draft, and it does not matter what it looks like. You know what the tip was?
It’s an old mantra. It is something that veteran writers know. However, one of the biggest writing block that halts our progress is a plot wall. The dreaded “what do I do now?” question.
What were the tips?
- If your introduction is boring. Don’t start there.
- Write it for YOU first. Write it for your audience in the editing stage.
- Oof. Did you hit the period of the story between two plot points and you don’t know how to bridge them yet? Then don’t!
- Not sure how to end/begin dialogue? Narrate the fact that they talk in the rough draft and add the dialogue in the editing stage!
- Oh no! You’ve decided something you’ve already written makes no sense for the events later in your story! Should you go back and change it right this moment? No.
I intentionally left out the author’s commentary. If you seem interested in the tips, please visit the original post.
While in the midst of writing my novel for NANOWRIMO, these tips were particularly helpful to me. If you seem to be currently stuck, I hope these tips could help you get unstuck and back to writing your novel.
I particularly like the part about not writing a part you don’t like or don’t know what to do. You are writing a draft. Skip it, and get back on it later. Who knows, perhaps in the long run, you will not actually need that particular scene. Or when you realize that a particular scene is actually needed, you already have a clearer picture on what to write. The important thing is to keep the flow and rhythm of the story-writing process going. It is not about getting a polished work out of the gate. It is about getting a story straight.
I have read countless posts and articles by seasoned writers who say that there are countless edits you have to do before you get a story ready for publication. As a novice writer, I am more concerned about getting a draft done. If you haven’t been able to complete a first draft before despite countless attempts, like me, then you were probably doing something wrong. Trying something different might help, like the stuff mentioned above.
Anyway, that is all for now… Please hit that “Follow” button, if you haven’t yet. If you wish to support me in anyway, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi page, or my Patreon Page or drop by my redbubble shop.
Speaking of my redbubble shop… I probably should get to working on new designs soon… It had been months since my last update over there. However writing a novel is taking a lot of my creativity at the moment… hahahaha… Anyway…
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a nice day.
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