Photo by Jordan Benton on Pexels
A few weeks ago, I proclaimed to the world that I was going to start on my very first novel. I posted it on social media and even wrote an entire blog post about it. I was proud, and I received so many encouraging posts: You got this! Way to go!
I was pumped and ready to start writing. I had Scrivener, software that helped me to organize my outline and create character and setting sheets. I had already been thinking about an idea and even a title.
I started writing the very first scene of the very first chapter. And then, I realized. Hm…I think I need a prologue. So, then I start writing the prologue. It was moody and atmospheric. And only 300 words. After that, I went back to chapter 1.
And I stared at my blank page.
And thought.
And walked around.
And stared at my blank page.
And did a few stretches at my desk.
And stared at my blank page.
And so, I closed out of my document and worked on my “real” work of freelance proofreading and editing. Over the course of the next week, I found that I was pretty tired after a day of freelancing and then writing up a near-daily blog post to be able to then work on my novel after all of that.
I felt like a failure. I’d announced to the world that I was going to write a book, and I was already stalling out at the very beginning. I had an overall idea for the book. I knew what genre I was going to be writing in (mystery). I knew, basically, the shape of the murder that was going to be the crux of the story. I even had some idea of the red herrings I was going to sprinkle throughout. I also had a pretty strong idea about my main character.
So why was it so hard for me to get started? Well, as I had freelance editing work projects in, a lot of those sapped my energy for eight hours a day over the course of a week and through the weekend. Trying to find time in the evenings to write left me feeling burned out looking at words. And then, when I was done with work projects, I just wanted to relax. And then new projects would come in, and so the cycle would begin again.
But, I thought, why don’t I just set aside 15 minutes in the morning. It’ll be the first thing I do after getting up and while having my first cup of coffee. I tried that out and for the first five minutes, I’m not going to lie, I simply stared at the blank page in front of me. But then, I just started writing and asking myself questions. My main character was going to a book club. Whose house was it going to be at? What did the front door look like? How many people were going to be there? What was my relationship with the Book Club host? What was going to be the action that takes place at the discussion that is going to move the plot along? What book were we all reading and discussing?
As all of these questions flooded into my mind, I started typing. I kept typing past the 15 minutes, and pretty soon, each answer to a question led to more questions and more storyline. Before I knew it, I had completed the first scene of my chapter.
Hoorah!
Fifteen minutes in the morning—that was the key to unlocking my writing. If I could carve out just that much time each day and just start typing, I could get the writing juices flowing. Of course, this is just the beginning, and I’m going to need to keep this up on a consistent basis to make any real progress on my book. But I had been despairing of ever getting started—and completing that first scene felt wonderful!
I had chatted with a friend over lunch yesterday; she is a published author, and that was her key piece of advice: consistency. Find a consistent schedule for your writing. And because I have so many other things going on, chunking that writing out into small pieces, like 15 minutes, allows me to ensure that I can get that writing in every single day.
What tips have worked for you for writing? Share your tips in the comments below.
Comments