What’s Slowing You Down As You Write? Part I
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
To me, there are two different types of ‘writing slow.' There's writing slow when you're word-crafting and being very deliberative with your writing. And then there's the other kind of ‘writing slow': slow writing because we're hung up on something. It's the second kind that I'm addressing today: the frustrating feeling of not getting far in a writing session because something was holding you back.
I've come up with a list of common things that can hold writers back and some solutions for getting around them. I'll post the rest of them next week.
Being a slow starter: Is it tough for you to get started writing again the next day? If you're routine-driven, it may help to write at the same time and place every day (for me, it's become almost muscle memory).
You could also try Hemingway's trick of stopping each day's writing session in the middle of a sentence.
Another way I push past daily resistance to getting back into the story is by ending each day's session with a mini outline for the next day. It's very short: just a quick note as to where I left off with the story (this helps prevent re-reading and being pulled into editing mode) and a quick note saying what I plan on covering during the next writing session (sleuth talks to suspect Dan. Dan says he was at work during the murder. Mentions he overheard an argument between victim and another suspect, Gina).
A difficult scene: Sometimes there might be scenes we're just not in the right frame of mind to write, for whatever reason. It could be something as basic as wanting an important scene to be written perfectly. It could be something more complex, like we're not in the right mood to write a humorous scene or feel too upbeat to write a tragic scene.
One way to handle this is to simply skip the scene. Put some sort of marker in there, like ##, so that you can find the spot later on and go back to it. Then just pick up with the next scene in the story.
Slowing down to add setting or character description: This was a common roadblock for me when I was writing . . . until I started leaving this information out during the first draft. Otherwise, I'd spend a lot of time either trying to craft a unique character description for a recurring series character, or I'd end up sitting there trying to figure out how I wanted to describe a particular setting.
I leave out the troublesome descriptions from the first draft and then create a second document after that draft is finally done. On the new document, I brainstorm all of the character and setting descriptions for the story and, while I'm reading through and proofing, weave the descriptions in. That way, I'm in a descriptive mindset and can get a lot more done, much more quickly.
Not being sure what to write next in the story: We all get to that point in a story. Sometimes it's a major plot point (especially if you haven't already outlined the book). Sometimes it's just trying to figure out a subplot or even a transition in the story.
I recommend either skipping through to the next scene you're sure of or opening up a fresh document and brainstorming as many possible next steps in the story as you can possibly come up with. When you're brainstorming, be sure not to hold back: the ideas can be as random or ridiculous as you dream up.
What kinds of things slow you down when you write? How do you address them?
Tips for Common Issues that Slow Writers Down:
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