How To Continue Writing an Old Draft #AuthorToolboxBlogHop

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They did say that we must strike when the iron is hot, however, for writers, what can we do about a story that we shelved a long time ago and decided to pick it up again to continue writing?

When it comes to writing, I have a preference for getting it all done in one go. However, for large projects, such as novels, sitting down and finishing it all in one session is near impossible.

I have a problem with shelving ideas and writing. Either I completely forgot the original direction I was going on with the project, or I just lost interest.

However, for the rare gems where the story idea still managed to stick around after months, or dare I say, even years of neglect, how can a writer pick it up, dust it off and get back to working on it again?

Here are some tips to think on. Now, I understand that we all have our own processes and procedures, and what I have here is the process I use. Whatever works, right?

This post is part of a monthly project by Raimey Gallant, the #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop. While I am not much of an author, I hope I can somehow be of help to the community. Most of the writers who participate in this monthly project are leagues better than me as a writer, so I encourage you to check out the participants in this month.

Anyway, back to our main topic – How to continue writing an old, incomplete draft:

How to Show, not Tell in Writing Fiction #AuthorToolboxBlogHop

Show, not tell. That’s a very old writing tip that a lot of new fiction writers, myself included, fail to implement when starting out with their journey to writing stories and novels.

I learned, however, that it’s not because we don’t know how to write. Rather, it’s because we were trained to write this way in school, most notably with nonfiction. Well, in nonfiction, telling is the way to go.

In fiction, it’s another story.

If you want to raise your story quality by a bar or two, it is very important that you be able to grasp the concept of how to show action, instead of telling.