Writing Tips—A Writer’s Dozen—Archive

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Twelve Ways to Get Going

By Judith—First Posted November 2007

1.        Stop reading about twelve ways to get going.  Just start.

 

2.        Start small.  Don’t get boggled down by the overwhelming goal of writing a whole book. Set a goal of one page, then keep going from there.

 

3.        Quit reading email.  If you were to add up all the time you spent on email and playing computer games, you probably could have written 9 books, each equaling the word volume of  “Gone With the Wind.”  So quit making excuses about not having time and just do it.

 

4.        Write drivel until the drivel starts to make sense.  The simple process of writing unblocks your imagination, and all sort of things begin to flow.

 

5.        So if you insist on procrastinating, fine.  Set a clock and allow yourself 15 minutes to wallow in procrastination, then put your nose to the grindstone and write for 20 minutes.

 

6.        If you’re really stuck, try changing where you write and when you write.  Remember that Harry Potter was written in a coffee shop.

 

7.        Look at your study (or place of work) and look at all the lovely stuff you’ve squirreled away in there—lovely stuff that is very like a huge distraction, like crossword puzzles, computer games, books, dictionaries, a comb with nine missing teeth, a herd of dust bunnies, as dish full of odd keys. Put it all in a box.

 

8.        Pick one thing, one small thing and do it.  Maybe you want to write about the beautiful sunset, or the wrinkles you saw on an old lady’s face, or the dish full of odd keys that are sitting on your desk.  Give yourself a chance to enjoy.

 

9.        Refer to yourself as a writer.  If nothing else, the guilt of lying will get you motivated.

 

10.      When you accomplish your small goal, give yourself an award (as long as it isn’t something like a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle that will take you 3 months to put together.)

 

11.      Remember (and those men among us, please forgive me) but if you’re a woman, you can do more than one thing at once.  Our brains are programmed that way.

 

12.      Make a commitment.  That’s all it’s going to take.