How to keep it going.

Yokay... So lets get down to the point. This is the picture: You have this million-dollar idea, and you decide to write it. You get fifty pages and are on top of the world. Then you get another million-dollar idea... and you write that one too. But that original one ends up sitting in your computer file gathering dust. You love your first idea, but you've got more passion for the second... Besides, fifty pages is waaayyy too short to be a novel, and you're not even almost done with it... What should you do?

 

Relax. Very simple task, right? I mean, an author's best friend is inspiration. Without it, you wouldn't even have your million-dollar ideas, in the first place. SOOOOOOOO. Moral of the story? I have come up with a solution to all of your problems... and unless you have no clue how to type on a computer, or write on paper, you won't have to consume all your time, and wreak havoc on your grades; bringing your parents and teachers swooping down like angry vultures to devour your story. Yeah.

 

I've come up with a daily checklist for you...

 

• Come up with a writing goal. If you just buckle down and write 1,000 words a day, you could have your first draft completed in 1-2 months. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
• Keep your space clean. Like they say, a clean desk is a clean mind.
• Keep a journal written by your character. If you write when you're feeling emotional, from your character's POV, then you, most likely will get to know your character better. If you keep a journal, with them feeling your emotions, than they (to your readers) will seem more humanistic. Meaning, that if you see them from a different perspective, and write with those ideas, then the audience won't get the idea that your character is perfect. You don't want your characters to be perfect. If they are perfect, than it won't be realistic. There are some exceptions, and very good ones, at that. Hermione Granger, from, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", by J.K. Rowling. But, she is only that way in the first part of the book. She is the straight A know-it-all, who does nothing but read, and get answers right.  Later on, she becomes one of the most important characters in the whole, entire book series. The second example is from the multiple books by Stephanie Morill. In her books, the snobbish, bratty characters are the perfect ones. The ones who wear fifty pounds of makeup, wake up with perfect hair, and wear skinny jeans all the time. They are the outwardly flawless ones, but are very twisted on the inside. I'm so sorry. That just turned into a pep talk. Oh well... every tip counts, right?
• Turn off the social media!!! Can we all agree that FaceBook, Twitter, Email, Pinterest, Instagram, and other media sites suck up a lot of our daily lives? I mean, come on, people... this is the 21st century. They are like dementors (another Harry Potter reference.). They suck away at your time. Time that you could be writing... See what I'm getting at?
• Use whatever time you like the best. If you're a night owl, and get the urge to write before bed, do so. If you are a morning person, get up an hour early. If you like writing whenever, do that. Now, as a student at VPSA, I know that homework ALWAYS comes first. No ifs, whens, buts, or whys. But if I find that I have ten minutes before class, I write. It all adds up.

That's pretty much it... if you have any questions, email me: raneandgraye@gmail.com

Keep writing!

<3

Patricia Rane
P.s. One of my favorite quotes is: "One hundred words a day keep writers block away." --Anonymous.