Amalia Carosella
Read EVERYTHING. Think about the reasons you like a story or a chapter or a paragraph or a sentence or a single line, and pay attention to what really blows your mind or what turns you off completely.
And hand in hand with that, develop a writing habit. You don't necessarily have to write daily, and the idea that you must in order to be a real writer is garbage, but DO show up for your writing in some kind of regular way. Whether it's ten minutes before you go to bed, or first thing in the morning, or during your lunch hour, once or twice or three to five times a week--doesn't matter as long as you make it a habit and treat it as something important in your life. Training your brain to work those creative writing muscles when you need them to work makes everything so much easier. Even if all you do is stare at your word document in the beginning, it's okay. You're creating the habit and showing up, and that's the biggest hurdle, in my opinion, to getting words on the page and finishing projects.
And maybe just as important as both of the above--make sure you build the habit of REST in opposition to the WORK. Make sure that the writing habit you create INCLUDES time off. Give yourself at least one day a week (if not two!) when you are NOT permitted to write, or at the very least don't feel any guilt for taking the time off, because writing yourself stubbornly into burn out isn't worth it, I promise you.
And hand in hand with that, develop a writing habit. You don't necessarily have to write daily, and the idea that you must in order to be a real writer is garbage, but DO show up for your writing in some kind of regular way. Whether it's ten minutes before you go to bed, or first thing in the morning, or during your lunch hour, once or twice or three to five times a week--doesn't matter as long as you make it a habit and treat it as something important in your life. Training your brain to work those creative writing muscles when you need them to work makes everything so much easier. Even if all you do is stare at your word document in the beginning, it's okay. You're creating the habit and showing up, and that's the biggest hurdle, in my opinion, to getting words on the page and finishing projects.
And maybe just as important as both of the above--make sure you build the habit of REST in opposition to the WORK. Make sure that the writing habit you create INCLUDES time off. Give yourself at least one day a week (if not two!) when you are NOT permitted to write, or at the very least don't feel any guilt for taking the time off, because writing yourself stubbornly into burn out isn't worth it, I promise you.
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