Where to Start Your Story

“Where do I start my story?” is one of the most common questions I get from writers. If you’re like most of my clients, it’s a question that inspires fear, anxiety and overwhelm. So let’s get you to the other side of that yucky equation with the following tip: Start by jumping into the deep end of your story. What do I mean by that? I mean jump right into the heart of the conflict. Let us see—on that very first page—what’s at stake. That’s called a hook, and it’s what will pull a reader in. What often happens instead when we sit down to write is that we get all tangled up in backstory. After all, we want to set the context, explain who everyone is, what’s going on, etc., etc., etc. The problem with this approach is that it can take […]

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5 Tips to Get You Writing NOW

Starting (or restarting) a writing routine can be one of the most stressful parts of writing. Here are 5 tips to get you up and running as quickly and easily as possible. Tip #1: Don’t wait for inspiration. One of the biggest myths out there is that writers wait for inspiration, which then beams down, God-like, to the chosen few. Whoa, Nelly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Writing, at its essence, is work. It’s something you sit down and do, over and over. And the best writers are those who sit down, day in and day out, to get their stories onto the page. Writing, revising, revising again. Check, check and check. This is the cold, hard, not-so-sexy truth of writing. Like lots of other things in life (eating well, exercising, etc.), a consistent writing practice is a habit. Nothing more, […]

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