Not Editing Saved My Life!

Have you ever wondered how some writers can publish books every few months? I never gave it much thought as a reader. I was just happy my favorite book series was up and ready for me to purchase or borrow. I dive into the book, and I’m also elated to find that the author has tons more books in other series. So, imagine my surprise when I started writing my own book and couldn’t seem to type a paragraph without going back and re-editing and thinking that this was almost as bad as college writing term papers!

I couldn’t figure out the secret to knocking out pages in one sitting or how to just let my ideas flow and not have to come back to it and re-check everything to make sure it made sense or sounded good. If you’re secretly a perfectionist like me, you know how hard it is to move forward without constantly re-analyzing your previous tracks. I get obsessed with the details and lose focus on the mission.

I decided to research how editing kills creativity, and I realized editing was killing my creativity! If editing wasn’t a factor, I could write pages for days and become a one-woman book factory. I remember when I was younger, I would write storybooks and be at it all day just as happy and naïve but inspired and glowing with the stories that appeared in my loosely folded construction paper. I would even write series, draw pictures, and everything. When I was done, I didn’t think about if the commas were right or if a phrase was used in the wrong tense, or if the tone was relevant or not.

I decided to do my research on editing, and I found three main ways to edit. You can edit before you finish writing your work, after you finish writing, or combine both methods. The first method is extremely safe for someone like me, but it takes a lot of time. I would probably only complete one book a year this way. The second method, I’m not even going to lie, is very scary to me. Not being able to edit while I write would worry me being that I’m trying to be a best seller and all. I might even be able to crank out a couple of books a year, reminding myself that I am doing this writing thing, and my inner child will be very happy.

The third method seems to be the best of both worlds. I can write and just go crazy, but after about 20 pages of sweat beads and anxiety, I could go back and make sure I didn’t write myself off a cliff! So, what do you say? What method do you use to edit? Please, let me know what you think!

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Writer’s Block Savior: An Homage to Overcoming the Stigma of Procrastination

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I struggled with procrastination for a long time, as it relates to my writing. This doesn’t include the papers I had to write for college. That was just brutal torture. I was literally drudging through the mud to the finish line to earn an advanced degree. Long story short, I decided to follow a long overdue dream to just do what I love instead of what I thought was prestigious. No pun intended!

I learned that writing a book is not just meant for those who have massive time blocks to spare or slow-paced lifestyles. No. Writing is for the truly determined who want to have their say. So what can save you from writer’s block? How do you just get it done? It’s as simple as just writing.

The old tried and true just get straight to the point theory. I started writing on a pad of paper, and yes, it was a pretty notepad. It wasn’t expensive-pretty, but it was motivation enough. Don’t think about anything else, nothing. Don’t even think about who you are, your background, how you speak, or anything else that distracts you from writing the content you feel in your heart. Once you get a rhythm to your writing, you will soon see a pattern. This is your writing style and what will eventually make you stand out as an author.

I’m not a writing expert. I’ve just been writing for so many years. I realized that, yes, I have something to say, and it’s valid! Most writers feel intuitive about their work. Once you take the first step to start writing, you’ll be surprised at how many ideas will begin to flow. The key is to keep notes of any ideas you have; that way, you can pull from those ideas when you go back to writing.

For me, there were more days of self-doubt than productivity. It wasn’t until I realized that being a writer meant having ideas and writing them down until you create a body of work. I took breaks to research writing, editing, and publishing. I treated my writing as birthing a baby or creating a piece of art. I wanted to make sure it would be whole once it arrived in the hands of its reader. Along my writing journey, I stopped and remembered to love myself. So, in the end, procrastination became my saving grace.

Comment what you think below!