Recently, a person told me she had wanted to write a book for some time but could not start. We discussed her experience and learned she had what I call, “Walls, Roadblocks and Head Noise.” Overthinking the beginning, she was stuck. She had a great story to share but lacked self-belief.
Is that you? Do you have “Walls, Roadblocks and Head Noise?”
If so, today is your lucky day. Almost every new author experiences such obstacles. Our brains are funny, recalling events we had not thought of in years. Consider the day you knew your English teacher was going to love your creative writing story, only for her to return it full of red marks. The disappointment was shattering. You had been confident it was a great story. Now, you relive that moment, which blocks your new writing adventure.
FIRST WORDS
So back to your lucky day——
1. When you have a story but your brain starts to talk you out of writing, tell yourself— “Go away—it’s a new day.”
2. Start writing! It does not have to make sense. Just write your thoughts. Do not get bogged down correcting or changing what you’ve started writing. Keep going! To avoid getting sidetracked, type notes to yourself in the text about potential edits. Examples: “Make Clara older,” or “Rethink timing of rainstorm.”
3. Especially important, do not worry about the first sentence or paragraph. Often the beginning is one of the most edited parts of a published story. Worrying about that too soon could leave you stuck there forever.
Examples of starting techniques
Remember, you are simply getting underway. Once you are moving you can easily change direction. Some techniques to jump start your writing are to:
1. Describe what an important character is thinking or doing, or the character’s appearance or history.
2. Describe the setting. One of our children’s favorite Christmas stories begins “Once long ago in a dusty hillside village far, far away ….”.
3. Write about a key event, such as:
“Josie walked right up to Alia and said ‘Don’t ever speak to me again!’”
Or
“Mabel’s family moved to a new state and she hates her new school.”
RUNNING WITH IT
You are tearing down walls, removing roadblocks and turning off the head noise.
How far do those first sentences take you? Hopefully, by letting your thoughts flow, you make good progress. It is important to push through until the basic story line is on paper, whether in one sitting or 20 or more sittings.
How to keep making progress? Personally, I just write. I don’t outline at all, I just write. I worry about molding the story after finishing a first draft. This may work for me because most of my stories are for children. Outlining may work for you, but I recommend trying first to put a good portion of the story on paper.
Once I have a rough draft, I organize the story. I can then see the characters come to life. Their development might unexpectedly change the story’s direction. It’s exciting when that occurs. The story becomes unpredictable, and you yourself can’t wait to discover what happens next.
Never be afraid to put the story down and walk away. Let the story relax in your mind and see what ideas come to you.
Do not worry that the emerging draft is lumpy. Some paragraphs may be near perfect, others may be rough or even fall out of the story. Keep inserting notes about possible additions or changes. Over time you will smooth out those lumps. When you have expressed the story you wanted to share, it’s time to start editing.
EDITING
What a chore! What a necessity! Everything from grammar, punctuation and word choice to basic plot and characters, must be examined and edited. Expect to edit your story 10 times or more. Here are some steps to take:
Fit Your Writing To Your Audience
1. Be clear about whom you are writing for – young readers, college students, adults.
2. Make sure your content fits that audience.
3. Check vocabulary and sentence structure to align with that audience.
Identify and Eliminate Traps
4. List wording to avoid, such as too many small words, passive voice, too many “to be” words. Run through the draft looking for each trap one at a time.
5. Some repetition is appropriate for young readers, toddlers or babies. For older readers, avoiding repetition is helpful.
Identify and Eliminate Inconsistencies
6. When your words were flowing, you might have given Mary red hair and then brown hair. Joseph’s best friend might have had a name change mid-way through the story. Reading closely with a critical eye can help you spot and correct them.
Tip
The http://www.prowritingaid.com is a great tool to help you with your sentence structure, readability and much more. So be sure to check it out.
Final Checks
After your story is complete, step back and consider it.
1. Does the story deliver your message? (The final message may not be the original, but it should be one you want to express.)
2. Read the story out loud to yourself or to someone else to spot mistakes and potential improvements.
STAYING MOTIVATED
Only you can determine the best way to fold some quality writing time into the other busy parts of your life. However, I will share a recommendation I feel strongly about.
To make room in your life – and in your head – to keep writing, you need to claim your status as an author. This is important to do even if you’re not yet published.
Make and hand out author business cards, which will reinforce your self-confidence. Initially, you may feel funny handing out those cards, but trust me, it works. Even if you already have a business card, I recommend having a card specifically identifying you as an author. I was a teacher, so I had new cards made which, underneath my name, said “Educator * Author * Speaker”. It sparked great conversations, and I became comfortable stating that I am an author.
Welcome to the wonderful world of storytelling.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diann Floyd Boehm is an award-winning international author. Diann writes children’s books and young adult books. In addition, Diann writes books to inspire kids to be kind, like themselves, and to “Embrace Imagination”. You can find all her books on Amazon.
Diann’s Story Garden YouTube Channel gives children the opportunity to hear different children authors read their stories.
Diann is the co-host with Dr. Jacalyn on USA Global TV.
Diann continues to be involved in various humanitarian projects with multiple organizations.
Diann was born to parents of George and Mabel Floyd in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in Texas with five brothers. She has traveled extensively to many parts of the world and has lived in the Philippines and Dubai.
Keep in touch with Diann by joining her newsletter: www.Diannfloydboehm.com.
Ruby Takes Chicago on Amazon https://amzn.to/3GPOF3Y
About the Author
