Anna asked Jennifer A. Nielsen:

Lately I haven't really been writing stories lately. When I try, the only thing I can do is find all the mistakes with it instead of just trying to enjoy myself. It's been like this for months. I don't want to give up writing at all, but I feel kinda lost about it. Does this ever happen to you, and what would you do about it? Any suggestions?

Jennifer A. Nielsen Don't think about writing as the creation of mistakes - think of it instead as a lump of clay from which you are going to carve an amazing sculpture. So you write your first draft and yes, it WILL be flawed and ugly and just plain bad, just as everyone's first draft is flawed and ugly and bad - that is normal.

So you've got this ugly first draft - well that's the lump of clay you now have to work with. And from it, you begin to rewrite, removing the parts that don't work, molding the dialogue and characters and descriptions, refining new subplots and themes as they begin to emerge. And slowly, you begin to see your sculpture, your monument.

But keeping at it requires you to stay focuses on your vision. If you focus on the mistakes - that's just you looking at the lump of clay. Try to look at what it will become if you keep working at the clay.

You've got this. Just keep writing!

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