The previous post suggested five tips for how to proceed when you don't know how to start writing your project. Here are the other six:
6. While you’re writing, read/don’t read anything similar. This is one you have to find out for yourself. Some people find it inspirational to read something in the same genre as the project they’re writing, others find it either depresses them because they judge their project against the thing they’re reading and or they start to mimic the style they’re reading
7.Try to avoid big time gaps in you writing process. It’s not always possible to write every day, but don’t let too much time go by in between or you may lose your intimate connection to the material.
8. Stop before it’s perfect. Some people get hung up on going back constantly and changing things, which means it’s a long time before they finish a first draft. Usually that’s not a good idea.
9. The completion of the first draft is the right point for a time gap. Now you’re trying to lose your intimate link to the material so that you can re-approach it much more objectively. A week is the minimum, two to four weeks is better.
10. It’ll never be as good as you hoped it would be (unless you start with low expectations or are easily pleased) but you can make it better. When it’s as good as you can do, stop rewriting and get some feedback. If some combination of your head, heart, and guts tells you the feedback is right, make changes.
11. Don’t forget to celebrate. You have created something that didn’t exist before. It may become an international best seller or be bought only by your grandmother, but now it’s out in the world. With luck, the process of telling this story has also helped you to grow in some way you may never be able to articulate. That’s worth a party (even if it’s just you attending).
(There are many more tips in my supportive book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey.)
