Day Fifty

Hi, so I've finished a short story, a first draft you could say, but there are still some kinks in it that I want to iron out. What is stopping me is that it seems just such a huge job, I wouldn't know where to start. And so I keep making excuses. (Chances are I'll use this as an escuse as well, that I'll wait until I hear your answer.) Any tips on where to start?

Procrastination & The Editing Stage...

Procrastination is typically a symptom of anxiety and perfectionism. Before you ask how you solve the problem, you should figure out why you’re having it in the first place. This is an immensely helpful practice in the long run. Ask yourself why you’re so anxious to start examining your own work and test various possible exercises that could soothe this anxiety long enough to get started. 

Editing is understandably very intimidating. It’s daunting to have to sit down and actively look for flaws (or as I like to say, room for improvement) in your own work. Writing is a practice in vulnerability sometimes editing can feel like critiquing your own emotions. In order to edit well, you have to detach from your own connection to the content and view it objectively. If you’re having trouble with this, I recommend putting literal distance between yourself and the writing. 

Let it sit physically and mentally away from you for a few months and then come back to it with fresh eyes and preferably a second project in the foreground of your writing time. This will allow you to see it as a story rather than a part of you, and therefore you will find it easier to criticize. 

I have a few posts and tips that touch on the subject of procrastination and approaching work you’re intimidated by that expand upon the topic:

Stop Getting Too Attached When Writing

Healthy Forms of Motivation

How To Have A Productive Mindset

How To Fall In Love With Writing

Writing Through Mental Health Struggles

 Dear Writers Who Are Hesitant To Start Writing

“All First Drafts Are Crap” -- My Thoughts

Getting Back To Writing After A Long Hiatus

Why “Burnout” Is Oay - The Creative Cycle

Wanting To Finish A Story You’ve Fallen Out of Love With

How To Use Beta-Reader Feedback

How To Actually Get Writing Done

Writing On A Schedule

Coming Back To A Story After A Break

Coming Back To A Story You’ve Grown Since

How To Prevent Getting Stuck

Sticking To A Story (Working on Multiple Projects)

Writing Your Way Through The Plot Fog

Get Back Into The Stride of Writing

When you are finally ready to start editing, perhaps a few of these resources may be helpful to you:

Step-By-Step : Editing Your Own Writing

Improving Flow In Writing

Constructive Criticism : How To Give & Receive

How To Make A Scene More Heartfelt

How To Perfect The Tone

Editing & Proofreading Cheat Sheet

A Guide To Tension & Suspense

What To Change Draft-By-Draft

Dialogue Punctuation

Finding And Fixing Plot Holes

On Underwriting

Denoting Flashbacks

Ultimate Guide To Symbolism

Expanding Scenes

Naming Stories

Tips on Descriptions

Tips on Balancing Development

Tips on Connecting Chapters

Tips On Dialogue

Using Vocabulary

Balancing Detail & Development

Showing Vs Telling

Writing The Middle of Your Story

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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Clexa + Parallels Lil’ gift for you Erin, I know how much you love these. I hope it will “cheer you up”’. Thank you for everything. But this gifset is also for all the Clexa fans as well. THANK YOU FOR BEING AWESOME.

Tough call!

Who are you rooting for? Also tell me if ur Canadian in the tags I’m so curious who ur choosing

From the mouth of a One Percenter -

Abigail Disney

Day 6: a world building idea I had to give up.

I had wanted to connect my current wip to the northeast blackout of 2003 but that was not feasible with the timeline and setting.

100% agree! Some of the fanfic I’ve read has better writing than the actual show. For example, Giant by @coeurdastronaute

Reblog if you think fanfiction is a legitimate form of creative writing.

Saves me everyday

My Soul Alight: XXI

My Soul Alight ➛ Chapter XXI - find it right here! ➛ As always, let me know what you think :)

XXI Preview:

[…]

“This is a bad idea,” Clarke murmurs, when Lexa breaks the kiss.

“Yes.” Lexa agrees.

“It doesn’t feel like a bad idea.”

“No.”

“But it is.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It will put you in great danger,” Lexa says, her eyes falling to the floor between their feet.

“You and me both, I assume.”

“Yes.” A trembling breath escapes Lexa’s lips, heavy like lead.

“What are you not telling me?”

[…]

Day sixty-five (65/100)

of @the-wip-project‘s #100daysofwriting challenge

Q65: What else counts as writing for you?

A65: Art, especially sketching story locations, research in particular maps and historical events during the period the story is set in. Or, in terms of my clexa wip, verifying canon events versus where my plots diverge from it.

However, I think it is important to mention that I have had to set boundaries for myself around how much time I spend on research, e.g., how much research do I actually need in order to write the story versus how much information am I taking in because I am curious.

Day forty

of @the-wip-project‘s challenge

Q40: How do you start a new story?

A40: I start with the scene that the idea came to me with. I write out that scene as completely as possible. Afterwards, I re-read it and think of what is needed to make this scene make sense.