Challenges, part 2
Part 1 of this post is
here.
For each of us, when we're seeking our “next level,” the hurdle may be set at a different place, depending upon the experience and talent we bring to the table. I asked some other writers what was the main thing they did to bring their work to the next level, and here are their answers:
Cristin Terrill: Kept writing. The levels just seem to come at their own pace.
T. Anne Adams: Slow down and pay attention to the quality of my writing.
Laura Pauling: Completing a structural breakdown of published novels really helped me with story structure.
D.L. King: What helped me take my writing to the next level was taking a screenwriting class. Studying a different medium really opened my eyes to ways to improve my novel. I learned some great lessons for building the basic structure and for making each chapter more visual.
Suelder: I joined an online writing community - made friends with other writers and took their comments seriously.
Mike Mullin: For craft: Read and annotated Self Editing for Fiction Writers until my original copy had to be replaced. For voice: wrote a first-person manuscript in which the protagonist is pretty much me (as I was as a teen).
The common thread seems to be that we keep working and keep moving forward. We put in the time, and we work up a sweat.
And sometimes we take risks.
My most recent project came to life because I tried to write a verse novel. I wasn’t sure I had the poetic chops to write a verse novel, but it was definitely a stretch—something that excited me, that seemed fun to try. As it turned out, the book quickly morphed into prose, but writing those first few scenes in poetry and cut-line prose helped me find the main character’s voice. The feelings of freedom, of play, of exploring new territory, all contributed to the forward momentum of the book.
How are you pushing your writing to the next level?
For each of us, when we're seeking our “next level,” the hurdle may be set at a different place, depending upon the experience and talent we bring to the table. I asked some other writers what was the main thing they did to bring their work to the next level, and here are their answers:
Cristin Terrill: Kept writing. The levels just seem to come at their own pace.
T. Anne Adams: Slow down and pay attention to the quality of my writing.
Laura Pauling: Completing a structural breakdown of published novels really helped me with story structure.
D.L. King: What helped me take my writing to the next level was taking a screenwriting class. Studying a different medium really opened my eyes to ways to improve my novel. I learned some great lessons for building the basic structure and for making each chapter more visual.
Suelder: I joined an online writing community - made friends with other writers and took their comments seriously.
Mike Mullin: For craft: Read and annotated Self Editing for Fiction Writers until my original copy had to be replaced. For voice: wrote a first-person manuscript in which the protagonist is pretty much me (as I was as a teen).
The common thread seems to be that we keep working and keep moving forward. We put in the time, and we work up a sweat.
And sometimes we take risks.
My most recent project came to life because I tried to write a verse novel. I wasn’t sure I had the poetic chops to write a verse novel, but it was definitely a stretch—something that excited me, that seemed fun to try. As it turned out, the book quickly morphed into prose, but writing those first few scenes in poetry and cut-line prose helped me find the main character’s voice. The feelings of freedom, of play, of exploring new territory, all contributed to the forward momentum of the book.
How are you pushing your writing to the next level?
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