For this year�s A to Z Challenge I will be doing a series of hints and tips on how to get from the start to the end of the writing process. I will be keeping these posts relatively short (for me). And a big thank you to Arlee Bird for creating the A to Z Challenge. Cheers, Lee!
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Some people can sit down with a blank page and start writing. Come to think of it, we can all do that. But some people actually like what they end up with. And by some people I mean not me.
What most of us need before we start writing is an idea. A good one.
I don�t mean a complete story or vision for what you plan to write, I�m talking about an initial spark to get you going. It is possible to start without that, but I wouldn�t recommend it.What most of us need before we start writing is an idea. A good one.
It could be an image, a photo, a line of dialogue, a scene, an object. Whatever it is that first excites your imagination into story mode, the usual advice is to stick it on the wall above where you write, make it the wallpaper on your computer desktop, pin it somewhere you can see it all the time.
I find it more useful not to do that.
Take the thing (if it�s an idea or a line of dialogue, write it down or make a Word document) and put it away. In a drawer, in a folder. Obviously put it somewhere you won�t forget. Label it clearly. Then don�t refer to it again until at least after the first draft.
The longer you can manage the better.
At some point in the writing process you will get lost. Your enthusiasm will desert you and you�ll start to imagine that what you�re writing is a big pile of poo.
That�s when to get out your inspiration and remind yourself what started you down this road.
Because familiarity makes things lose their lustre. Depriving yourself of the thing that inspired you in the first place helps it keep its magic. It won�t necessarily help you solve any problems or come up with great new ideas, but it will, hopefully, respark your enthusiasm for the project.
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