Ask the Author: Cynthia Beebe
Answered Questions (1)
Cynthia Beebe
I learned to deal with writer's block over time. As a first-time author, when I first started writing I could get sidetracked fairly easily. There were days when it was a lot easier to walk the dog and read and watch movies than it was to write.
But I finally realized that the more I wrote, the better my story became, and that made it easier for me to write every day. Some mornings it would be a battle to sit down and open my computer, but once I sold my book I worked on it relentlessly. In the end, the real key to improving the manuscript was endless editing and rewriting.
If you find you're really stuck with writer's block, I would take a step back, reread what you've written and work on improving that, even if you think it's already well written. You can always improve your prose, even if it's just a few words here and there. And you might find, as I did, that rewriting the best part of the manuscript teaches you as much as rewriting the worst part.
Just don't give up - you can take a break if you need to, but then go back and focus on writing the words that bring your story to life.
But I finally realized that the more I wrote, the better my story became, and that made it easier for me to write every day. Some mornings it would be a battle to sit down and open my computer, but once I sold my book I worked on it relentlessly. In the end, the real key to improving the manuscript was endless editing and rewriting.
If you find you're really stuck with writer's block, I would take a step back, reread what you've written and work on improving that, even if you think it's already well written. You can always improve your prose, even if it's just a few words here and there. And you might find, as I did, that rewriting the best part of the manuscript teaches you as much as rewriting the worst part.
Just don't give up - you can take a break if you need to, but then go back and focus on writing the words that bring your story to life.
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