…If you don’t have something you want to work on right now, consider signing up for a contest. Writing contests often have a specific goal, a word count limit, and other limitations that will help you focus on a story.
To find worthy contests, I’d suggest you sign up for the Funds for Writers newsletter by Hope Clark. She shares all kinds of contests and she has a free version that is really helpful. You can find it at Fundsforwriters.com
Another option is to join a writing group that meets just to write. You can look for one on Meetup or your local events or create your own.
You can focus on writing a novel in November. There’s nanoWrimo or other writers who gather in groups to work on their novels in November. I like using November for writing a novel because it is the quietest most boring month.
Another idea is to focus on a short story, something a bit easier than a novel to get you into the process of writing. I run quarterly short storyathons where we write, edit, and publish a story to Amazon in a weekend. It is a ton of work, but it’s also very productive and you get an idea for the whole self-publishing process. To find the dates for the short storyathons at women’s thriller writers dot com under must haves and events.
Or maybe, You could dig into the old family photographs and write a story around that photo, the time, the people, the place.
And what about getting started? What do you do when you sit at your computer?
I suggest getting to know your main characters first. In episode 12 I shared How to develop characters for your stories. Go back and listen, and then work on characters.
Then when you’re ready to start your story, set a timer for 10 minutes and write as fast as you can.
Sprint writing is all about getting something on paper. Some of it will be awful, and some of it will be amazing. But either way it will get you started.
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