Read Lovely Books
Like most writers, I know all too well the feelings of doubt and criticism that tend to
It’s the voice that says, “what makes you think you can do this? You’ll never
I’m here to tell you that voice is an absolute lie and you need to stop
That’s why I’ve compiled this list of ten practical ways to push that relentless inner
Personally, I’ve found that jotting down notes in bullet point form seems to be enough
This way, I don’t feel completely bogged down with excess information I may not need
It’s also okay not to finish researching before writing the first draft
You can always go back and implement new things you may have learned later
Having your protagonist, key settings, and some of your ensemble cast along with backstories is probably the
” If over-outlining starts to stunt your motivation, take a break, and use the information you have so
It took Tolkien around twelve years to write The Lord of the Rings, but that doesn’t
Middle-Earth is a seemingly endless world that has scholars still asking questions decades later
Everyone’s process for building a world is different, and some take more time than others
While I was drafting my last novel idea, I had a complex world with tons of characters
I had a full Microsoft word document for characters and plot beats as well as a second
This led to me spending less time on my protagonist’s development which caused her to fall
I think if I had stayed closer to my character and developed her first, I could have
Writing a novel from page one all the way through to page three hundred sounds daunting, but
In an interview with YA author, Alexa Donne, Katytastic explains how she often skips around while drafting
She’s an avid plotter, which means that she plots her novels completely before starting a draft
I found this tip in a Brandon Sanderson interview where he discusses the five things he wished
If you opt to use tropes from a certain genre, try to avoid using clichés’
You can also use subgenres to add further uniqueness to your story’s structure
John Truby’s, The Anatomy of Story, is another wonderful resource for structuring
Sanderson also advises turning to movies for structural ideas
In my experience, I’ve learned that getting hung up on the potential “beauty” of prose halts
My best story work often comes from turning off my inner editor, which has taken time to
Perfect eloquence often comes in the second draft, so don’t worry for now, and just write
It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between
I wrote half of a romance novel last year and discovered that not only did I not
Just like with anything in life, you’re going to have your own natural strengths and weaknesses
If you’re not sure what those are, try writing a paragraph or two in a few
If you know a lot about a certain genre, it makes sense to try that one first
Changing up your process can help you stay motivated while keeping your story moving
What are some things you do to free up your writing process?