5 Ways to Keep Writing

5 Ways to Keep Writing (I draw the line at the flu…I had the flu this week and writing was off the table)

Writing like all art forms takes time. Over the years I have been writing I have gone through writing blocks, motivation blocks, losing focus and interest in the topic…in others words, I struggle a lot! There are 5 ways that I have used to keep writing.

Use Social Media…Yes Really!

I finally finished an eBook after a period of posting on Facebook. I kept starting books but never finishing them. I noticed that people kept hitting my spouse up for advice on genealogical research. And she patiently responded to every single person. I realized that the amount of content was more than enough to complete a book with. So with some research online and two solid weeks of writing, I finished my first book.

Blogging my ideas…

I finished my second book by blogging it. I tried really hard to just sit and write every day. But its so hard to do! I work during the day so I get contact with other adults but I never knew if I was on the right track or not. So I started to blog my book. The advantage I got was a reading base. As I write I get real-time feedback on where I am at in the narrative.

Flash Fiction

I find that using flash fiction gets me out of writing blocks. I write in a nonlinear fashion so I have not issue going script to build characters and make them more round. I noticed that many of my readers gravitated more to a character I thought was a bit player than they did to my main character. It changed how I approached the story. Plus flash fiction sites have larger readerships so if you need to get our writing out in front of a larger audience this is a great way to do it.

Short Story Contests and Anthologies

I use contests as a means of again getting my work in front of new readers. But many editors will use contests to put anthologies together for publishing. Its the easiest way to get published as someone else is putting the book together, editing, getting cover art. It takes the pressure off of you so you can focus on writing.

Go off script and write mini stories about characters in your book

I mentioned earlier the how many of readers gravitated to one of my characters. I like to take the Judy Blume method of writing letters in my characters voices. I will write a journal in the voice of my character. I will literally create an email account and write emails to the character and then write back to myself in the voice of my character. I learn a lot about my characters this way and my writing benefits as a result.

So your call to action:

Stop beating yourself up and start getting creative!! Writing comes in all forms and many times writers don’t use all the tools in their toolbox to achieve success. So pick three methods of writing and this week write using the new methods. You will see a difference.