Writing Update: Month of April

Time for another quick monthly update!

1. Progress is a Bit Slower

Admittedly, I haven’t made as much editing progress on my manuscript this month. I’ve been in a motivation slump, and other tasks have popped up. However, it has been nice to step back—variety is the spice of life—and hopefully some of the motivation will return. Though, if it doesn’t, I will simply have to write anyway. :) It’s just more pleasant when I do have more motivation. And if I’m honest, often after stepping back from a project, I have new insight when I return. Something like being able to once again see the forest, rather than just individual trees.

2. Taking Risks When Rewriting

It’s been my experience that it is difficult to commit to a change in a story. What if it makes the story worse? It could be a waste of time and not pan out—what then? Questions I often find myself asking about changes to the direction of my manuscript.

But I’ve also observed that I’ve gotten much better at this. For example, this month—and this is the instance that has brought this to my attention—I had an idea for part of the main character’s backstory that was very much out of left field. On one hand, my new idea did solve a problem I’d been having with the backstory—and does set up some interesting future developments. On the other hand, it also has the potential to write me into a corner by setting up certain story elements. My turn-around time on this was faster than other instances. Less hemming and hawing, which is, in itself, often a waste of time.

Be decisive.

3. Finding the Fun in Writing

I often struggle enjoying writing. With a strong inner critic, it’s easy to get into your own head. For me, this relates to the decisiveness I talked about above: I’ll get stressed out over experimenting with writing. I’m constantly worried about whether the writing is good, to the point of forgetting about having fun with the writing. It’s something I’ve become more aware of this month, and it’s probably a good reminder for all writers. Have a little fun sometimes.

~Alex