Let’s write books !!
There are people out there who write entire books. You say you wanna write. You say you have a great story with great ideas. There’s only one thing stopping you from getting a great story from inside your head and onto paper. The only thing stopping you is you. That’s no hard truth. We all have priorities. We all have responsibilities that keep us from where we should really be. So how can you start?
Let it unfold slowly
The first way to start doesn’t have to be banging out the whole book in one night. Keep a notebook and jot down your ideas throughout the day. Or use your notes app on your phone and organize an outline. We live in a world the worships hustle culture. But as writers we don’t follow what the world does, we write to change the world. This leads to the next point.
Change your mindset
There’s no right way to write a rough draft. Every writer starts their story differently. Some people write outlines scene by scene. But others including Stephen King go right in for the kill with only a vague idea. Some people use post-it notes and those boards kids use for science projects. Try different ways to get the story out that fits into your lifestyle.
Discipline
Some people claim you don’t have to write every day. And you know what, you don’t. But the best defense against writer’s block is writing something every day. When you write because of discipline, it’s not the unreliable couple, motivation and inspiration that’s progressing you forward on their terms only. Using discipline places you in control. It’s this that gets you the finish line. Also what’s great about writing your story every day is that it keeps you in touch with your characters. And when you’re in touch with your characters it’s easy to know what choices they are going to make. This is why it’s best to choose discipline.
Respect the greats
The greats are great for a reason. There’s something about comparing great works of fiction to their author. It’s almost as if the book loses context without understanding the life of the writer.
Enjoy the journey
Seriously though. Life’s too short to not have fun doing what you love. I used to get so angry. I used to throw huge fits and give up writing for days. Felt worse when I didn’t write than when I was frustrated. But then I started paying attention to the movies and books I loved. They don’t feel like the author trudged through them. They do feel like the authors paid attention to detail while using techniques that engaged the audience. Take your writing seriously and but don’t take it so seriously you lose a sense of play.
Take time to learn and grow
There comes a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance, that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which resides in him to till. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance
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