7 Tips on How to Keep on Writing

 

At a very young age, I loved writing and reading. And I was very good art it. I remember in Grade there was a teacher who came up to me and asked what I was doing. I informed her that I was reading Nancy Drew and the Wooden Lady. She didn't say anything, and just walked away while I dove back into the world of Nancy Drew.

I also loved writing. I would take my old scribblers from school and I would fill them with little stories about me. And now where I've come from that!

I'm now writing a novel! But writing can be tedious and when you don't have inspiration, pretty boring.
There has always been days where I just feel like writing. And there are days where I don't feel like writing. But I always keep on writing.

Actually, that's a lie. I don't write everyday, far from it. But I try to do something related to my novel everyday. Whether it is role-playing, editing previous writing, or searching for my character on Pinterest. I've done it all.

But since writer's block loves kicking my butt, and other writer's too, I made so tips to kick writer's block back.

 

#1- Roleplay

It's pretty simple. Just act out what your character says or does. That's why if you walk into my room sometimes, I might be sprawled on the floor or trying out some punches and kicks in the mirror. You never know with my novel.

 But when you get into your character, you connect to them easier. That way it's easier to write those character's or scenes you've been avoiding.

Also, who doesn't like acting out a character. I love acting like Hotisi and reciting his the lines. My newest favorite line is, Very funny. I'm laughing really hard. 

And you'd never believe who said it. Hotisi Ito! My favorite male character's POV to write is definitely hands down, Hotisi. He is very cocky and he thinks he's the king of the world in all dangerous situations. He is full of wit and humor. (I even go off topic and start to blog about him)

 

#2- Find your character

If you have an idea of what your character looks like, then it's easier to write those drawn out description paragraphs. If you are born with those artistic genes that I conveniently missed, then draw the person instead. Both of my sisters can draw, but I can't draw for a hundred dollars, so I stick with Pinterest.

There are dozens of boards out there that have faces of people. All I did was type in character inspiration. There was so many boards of women, teenagers, little kids. I made a board on Pinterest for Erin, Airi, and Hotisi when I didn't feel like writing. I might even make a board for Ti-su.

If you want to check out the boards, just click on Erin, Airi, Hotisi.

 

#3- Just write

Even if you don't want to write, just do it anyway. Take advice from Nike, just do it. It might turn out horrid, but it might be awesome. And once you've written the 100, it could become 200, and then 500 and next thing you know, you've written 1,200 words.

So what if it sucks, you can always edit it. At least you wrote that day. Those 150 words you wrote may not be much, but it just put you 150 words closer.

I know I need some momentum to get going, but once I start writing, I can't stop. Well, sometimes I stop for a snack break or a walk around my room.

Find a place where you get inspiration and write there. My newest favorite place to write is on the deck in the sun. Or anywhere where the sun is. We don't get sun here until the end of April, so I'm taking full advantage of this nice weather.

#4- Make time to write

You may have to skip out on things in order to write. For me it's sleep. I sometimes stay up till 11:00 PM writing my story. Why? Because I'm a really busy person that loves being multi-talented. 

I'm not about to rant on my time management, okay?

It's something you'll have to accept. Once you've started down this path, there's no turning back. Actually, I just kidding. But in order to conquer goals, you have to make sacrifices.

Whether it's parties, family time, or sleep. Anything that you do to put off writing is something you need to rescheduled. Unless it's super important like church, a funeral, or school. But if you wanted to have a friend over, but that's the last day of camp and you only have 2k left, tell her to come in 3 days instead of 2. See how easy that is?

But I'm not saying to not have fun. We're just kids and I even skip out on writing. *gasp!* Yes, I'm guilty of doing it once or twice. When you start dreading your novel, it's time to hit the backspace.

 

#5- Do some word sprints

This is a great way to get going. There isn't anything like the thrill of trying to beat the clock and boosting your number count.

For the people who don't know what that is, it's a 25 minute timer where you try to write as much as possible. I usually write about 600 words every sprint, and that means 1.2k an hour. Challenge yourself and see how much you can write in 25 minutes.

But also when I write using word sprints, you have tons of stuff to edit later on. So just a warning if you despise editing writing.

#6- You'll benefit from it later

You know all know the story of the ant and the grasshopper. The ant worked hard all year while the grasshopper made fun of him. In the end, who got the better end of the deal? The ant. He had worked hard and had a great winter while the grasshopper froze and died.

So as it goes in writing too. If you keep putting it off, then when what will it happen when the deadline appears? You'll rush it and end up with bad work. "Haste makes waste" as my friend so wisely said.

If you write now, your future self will thank you.

 

Also, if you know you have a party on Saturday and you wanted to write on that day. Instead of shrugging and leaving it, work on it Friday and go to the party on Saturday. You still went to the party, but you got writing done to. It's called killing 2 birds with on stone.

#7- Have a simple playlist that you play on loop

This is a big help for me. If I have a long playlist of 40 songs, then I spend the most of my time skipping ahead to different songs.

So I made a playlist of all instrumental songs to listen to. And when I was making the playlist, I picked songs to fit moods I had in the book. There are happy and upbeat songs, intense samurai music for the fights, and sad music for those sentimental moments.

If you want to check out the playlist, click here: Playlist

And even after writing for 15 minutes, I tune out the songs and they become background noise.
 

Those are all the tips and tricks for you today. I hope I inspire you to write more!

 

What is your favorite noveling music? What helps you write on a day-to-day basis? Comment down below

-Carlye