Amy Stewart
No such thing! In those rare occasions when I'm asked to teach writing, I remind my students that writing is just typing (hmmm, maybe that's why I don't get asked to teach much!) But I mean it! Turn off the phone, turn off the Internet (I use a program called Freedom to force myself off the Internet), close the door (and put a Do Not Disturb sign on it if someone's around who might knock), and set a timer. Freedom has a timer built in, so I generally set it for an hour. Open your word processor and sit down. If you haven't taken these physical steps, you aren't really getting yourself ready to work.
Then just start typing! Seriously. If you're working on a book, write a terrible scene. Doesn't matter how bad it is. Just get the words down. Press those buttons on the keyboard and letters will appear on your screen as if by magic. It doesn't matter if you write a bad scene that you'll just have to cut later anyway. Get it down on the page so you have something tangible to wrestle with.
And if you really and truly can't get going after all of that, take out a GREAT book that you LOVE and that has something in common (no matter how unlikely the connection) with what you want to write, and start COPYING. I am not making this up. Type out a paragraph or two, word for word. It'll get you going. (oh, and then delete it later so you won't "accidentally" end up with a paragraph of Anne Tyler in the middle of your book!)
Then just start typing! Seriously. If you're working on a book, write a terrible scene. Doesn't matter how bad it is. Just get the words down. Press those buttons on the keyboard and letters will appear on your screen as if by magic. It doesn't matter if you write a bad scene that you'll just have to cut later anyway. Get it down on the page so you have something tangible to wrestle with.
And if you really and truly can't get going after all of that, take out a GREAT book that you LOVE and that has something in common (no matter how unlikely the connection) with what you want to write, and start COPYING. I am not making this up. Type out a paragraph or two, word for word. It'll get you going. (oh, and then delete it later so you won't "accidentally" end up with a paragraph of Anne Tyler in the middle of your book!)
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