Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Writing is hard - Tips to make it a little easier



Once again a Supernatural gif perfectly sums up my life. Writing is hard. It's hella hard. There are days when I'll literally be sitting at the computer for 5 hours straight and only a sentence will get written. Those days are terrible; they defeat you a little bit. Still, I've somehow managed to write six books in just under four years. I still feel like I could do better. That I could do more. I imagine all writers feel that way, but I'm still proud of my accomplishments.
There are some tips and tricks I've picked up along the way that have helped me keep going; to shake off the doubt and the ever looming writer's block. Some I've discovered on my own. Some I've borrowed from other writers. Now I want to share them with you. Just because I know how difficult in can be to be stuck in your book. It feels like you're pounding your head against a brick wall. So if some of what works for me can work for you...I am more than happy to share. I'll share a tip a day. I actually don't have that many so this won't last much past April.

My tip of the day is - JOIN A CREATIVE WRITING GROUP

  • Seriously, I held off joining one for a long time. I had a terrible experience with Creative Writing classes in college. They just weren't for me. I took every little criticism to heart. It ended up changing my writing style so much that I felt like I didn't even know who I was as a writer anymore. But I had a lot of writer friends who swore my Creative Writing groups. So I decided to go on to Meetup. I'm sure most of you know what it is, but if you don't it's a site where people of similar interests in your area can form groups and then meet up in person. I joined Meetup and found a Creative Writing group that actually seemed pretty cool. And wouldn't you know it, my friends were right. It's a group of people you can discuss ideas with, bounce storylines off of, see if something is working or if maybe you really should scrap it. Most importantly, I've found that people in these Creative Writing groups give each other support. They know the troubles and hardships of being a writer. They know how passionately you feel about your work. They're going to encourage you to keep going even when you're beating your skull against that proverbial brick wall.

If you have any tips or tricks you use I'd love to hear about them :)

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