Do you honor your writing process?
I know it’s something I have struggled with (and if I’m being honest here, it’s something I still sometimes struggle with).
Writing is such an individual experience.
We can learn lots of tips and bits of advice for getting the story out of our heads and onto the paper, but when it comes down to doing the work, it’s a solitary thing.
Or at least it should be.
It needs to be just you, plopping your characters into a setting, putting them into trouble and seeing what happens.
Crawling into their heads and actually seeing, smelling, tasting and hearing your surroundings. That takes time, focus and lots and lots of practice.
So the next time you read a book or blog, watch a video or listen to a podcast with tips for writing, my advice would be to use what works for you and discard the rest, but ONLY after you’ve sat down to write for that day.
It can be so easy to think that you’re not doing it “right”, which only lets your critical voice in to crap all over what you’ve just written (or are in the process of writing).
Yes, it’s important to practice new things, new methods and ideas, but at the end of the day, don’t lose focus on what works for you.
Honor your process, tweak it only when it serves to get your stories told and give your muse a little something for her help.
I’m thinking…chocolate!
