Yoda. (Image credit: Daily Mail)
One thing that writers hear often, and get irritated by, is, “Oh, you write? I’ve always wanted to write.” That common response to hearing that someone is a writer shows just how wide the gulf is between writers and people who never write. People who write do just that—they get an idea and they spend time typing it up. Those who never write, but spend their lives wishing they did, may read about writing and talk about writing, but they never take that final step and get everything written down.
Starting Your Work
Seeing a blank page in front of you can be a little scary. It can make you panic with the infinite number of things that your written work could turn into. Getting past that blank page is often what weeds people out of the process. To get past this scary start, take a minute to put down a rough outline of your ideas to help you begin your work. A few phrases put into outline format will keep you on track when you start to fill in your work. And, it gives you something to keep the first page from being a blank, nerve-wracking sheet of endless possibilities.
Create a Writing Schedule
One of the things that keep people from finishing their written works is believing that they have no time to do so. Think about the last time you sat down and watched TV for half an hour. When your TV program was over, you had nothing to show for that time. And few of us don’t have schedules so busy that we don’t have that amount of time a few times a week available.
To make sure that you put enough time into your written work, schedule a few half-hour blocks of writing time each week that will allow you to progress each week. Instead of spending empty time doing something forgettable, you will be making progress that, over time, will reward you with a full and finished work.
Limit How Much Time You Spend Researching
One of the common ways that we keep ourselves from getting writing work done is to extend the research phase. Reading books about writing and publishing is admirable, but it may be taking time away from your actual writing.
Another common trap is spending a lot of time researching topics that you want to write about. If you are trying to write about something completely unfamiliar to you, you may be better served by choosing a topic that you know a lot about instead. Often, the best books come from a writer who has a thorough understanding about a topic or setting. They know it so intimately that they can delight the reader by bringing a new dimension of realness to the book.
Writing Can Be Tough
So, you’ve read a little about writing, you’ve decided when your best writing times each week will be and you have a rough outline to help keep you on track. The rest should be easy, right? Sadly, it’s rarely easy for anyone. Writing requires a lot of sustained, concentrated effort. It generally takes months or longer to write a complete book, and your job as a writer is to stay focused until it’s finished. Writing a book may seem tough, but there are few things that will make you feel more fulfilled and fill you with as much pride as finishing a book and knowing that you put your best effort into it.