I don’t know how many times it’s happened that I just had to write down a paragraph-long idea for a story, that ended up turning into pages of background and further story ideas or an out-and-out story (or chunk of one).  Gene Wolfe’s 800+ page Book of the New Sun started out as a novella.

Articles and reports can start out the same way.  Sometimes all you need is that little push to get going.  Or a little chunk of info that can inspire you later when you’re refreshed.  Or something that you can look at and say, “Okay, at least I did something,” so that you can quit worrying.

Many’s been the time that I’ve written down the basic idea of an article and a few of my ideas or opinions about it, even though those ideas and opinions didn’t seem worth much.  But when I came back to it, the ideas either gave me more ideas on what to write or how to write it.  I.e. they sparked further research or else gave me a better angle and viewpoint to write from.

And speaking of fiction, it’s been a long day.  I think I’ll go relax with some Clark Ashton Smith.

At the very least, try slogging through for a couple of hours.  If there’s a definite format to the articles, then stick to that format religiously.  Structure in writing is a great tool that helps you shift brainpower to other areas–like the meat of the content.

And stick-to-it-iveness is at least as important as skill and definitely more important than talent when it comes to getting the damn thing done.  Oftentimes, it can take just a half-hour of consistent concentration to get “in the zone,” so that your confidence soars.

I know it’s not the most informative post, my faithful readers, but hopefully it can help somebody out of
a rut.

Talk to ya’ll later–I’ve got to go get back in the zone!

Those of you who write fiction already know why this is important. You know that it’ll make your day feel better. You also may have, like me, been stressing out so hard about getting actual work that you just skip straight over the fiction because, “I can do that later.”

Well guess what? If you are a fiction writer–published, never-published, small-circulation published, whatever–then your whole day will go better if you spend even just thirty minutes a morning (or whenever your day starts) loosing yourself in that fiction. Or, for that matter, pounding your head on the desk over it.

Those of you who already write fiction know exactly what I’m talking about. Those who don’t–I promise there’s no need to subject yourself to the process if you’re not already obsessed with it.

If you are obsessed with it, go ahead and work on your obsession first thing. Your whole day will be less stressful, and the world will seem a little less adversarial.

Just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood crazed (fiction and article) writer.

Just get some feedback from a professional, some how, some where. Worried that they might have too much criticism for you? Well a) if they do, then they’re just giving you tools to improve your writing and b) if they’re a pro, they’ll know how to say it without being an asshat.

And they’ll likely tell you where your strong points are, too. That kind of info can be worth a lot in the self-confidence, now-I-can-get-my-but-to-movin’ category. If I’d know how much it’d boost me up, I’d have gladly paid a pro a few bucks to do an analysis for me.

Luckily, I didn’t have to. I bought an ebook–don’t sneeze–on special at Warrior Forums (The Content Chef, if you’re wondering). The author–one Courtney Ramirez–puts out a thirty-day plan, the first step of which is “make a sample site”, with a side note saying “send your samples to me and I’ll give you some feedback.” (That’s my paraphrase, people.) So I figured what the hey.

She wrote me back with a couple of pieces of advice and some genuine, positive feedback. It was more of a boost than I’d thought, and just that little bit of self-confidence has boosted me into readiness for better markets. (I.e. I don’t feel like I have to stick around at eLance for a while before I advertise on Warrior Forums or Site Point). It was really just the little nudge I needed.

I don’t know if she’s still doing the feedback or not. (She says the current product isn’t much different than the original, so I imagine so. And she gets points for being honest and not trying to sell me the “new, improved” version–this after I told her I was planning on buying it soon. Mega points for her.) But if you check out a couple of writer forums, you’re sure to find a somebody or three that can give you some honest, constructive feedback.

And you can probably get the feedback for free. But if I knew two months ago how much just a wee bit more confidence can help, I’d have gladly slapped down a couple bills.

I’ll let you know how it goes with Warrior Forums.