Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes

Not Starting  -   If you don't start you can never finish. Completing any writing project, particularly a novel, is a daunting prospect. Many people become frozen by the prospect; others keep waiting for the right time. Some wait for the spark of inspiration. Even experienced writers find it easier to do anything other than actually write.

I wish I had a dime for every time I've heard people tell me “I've always wanted to write a novel / a how-to book / a short story / an article on...” They're called wannabes. Don't be a wannabe because you won't gain anything except thinking of excuses every time someone asks you “Hey, what happened to that novel you were going to write?”  That gets old.

The Solution   -   Start anywhere. While the opening line, page, and chapter of a book is critical, remember you can always change the opening upon re-writing. So after doing the correct preparations, pick the best possible start point at the moment and just begin writing. The right time is now. This minute. The right time can be while sitting at the airport waiting for your flight, or waiting for the dryer to stop spinning.

If you study successful writers, you will find that many began writing at what appeared to be inopportune times – not when all the stars were lined up according to his personal horoscope. Often they began writing when the timing seemed the absolute worst. This might actually be the best time to write. If you wait for the perfect time, it may never come.

Not Finishing  -   Kind of obvious, isn't it? But starting a project is so much more interesting than slugging through the entire thing. The middle section of any piece of writing, whether it be a novel, nonfiction, article, is almost always kind of hard to work on. The excitement of generating the idea – the lure of the beginning, writing something new – isn't there, and the lure of the finishing line is as far away as the shiver of the beginning.  I just re-read this and I can assure you that I used to be this person I just described.  One day I looked in a file that I have with novels, short stories, and other writing and I found quite a few that were not finished.  That, however, was the old me. Now I make sure that I finish what I started before I start another project. It wasn't easy. But I am doing it, and so far, succeeding... fingers crossed.

It's always easy to get sidetracked by a new idea, but when that happens

The Solution  -   Suck it up.  I suggest that you start a file called:  IDEAS TO BE DEVELOPED, and go from there.  Just write down a few lines about the new idea, mark your calendar, and on that marked date go back to the file and take one of the ideas and start working on it until you see the end.

For the professional writer who is under a contract it's easy because he gets paid for the work he submits. If he keeps procrastinating and leaving things unfinished he gets no paycheck.  The bottom line is simply forcing yourself to sit down and plug away at it. Knocking out words regardless of how you feel. Trust ME, it can be done!

These are just two cases, but we will keep adding more every week.

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