The number one problem that most writer's face is the inability to get through a first draft. Hours upon hours are spent revising and revitalizing old material instead of moving on to new material. While editing is something to do while you suffer from writers block, it is not necessarily always the best thing to do. It is easy to burn yourself out on a subject or storyline that you had been extremely passionate about only hours before. A method that has proved time and time again for many authors is to just get the first draft out of the way.
There are essentially two types of writers. The writers that outline the story, meticulously poor over the events of their story and the order in which they occur. For these writer, the writing process may be outlined for them, but it doesn't make it any less difficult. It is important that writers of this nature continue to move through the storyline they have laid out, otherwise the material they began with can become muddy and eventually useless.
The second type of writer is the kind of writer that just writes. They often have no idea how the story will end or any of the events that lead up to it. Despite this fact, the story always remarkably works itself out. However, without getting through the first draft, it leaves room for the writer to doubt themselves.
Here are some techniques you can use to avoid editing in times when you are suffering from writers block.
- Look through inspirational artwork. Websites like http://www.deviantart.com are filled with artwork from artist all around the world. Sometimes just viewing art can inspire you to move forward in your storyline.
- Take a break. Even though you may leave the your book, your brain is still working out all the kinks subconsciously. When you go back to the story, you may find that your problematic areas have worked themselves out.
- Work on your outline. For those writers who work through outlines, sometimes spending time with your ideas helps to move forward. For those who write as they go, sometimes outlining can help bring the story together and reign the story in a bit. Writer who write without an outline often have a tendency of letting their story run wild.
Without the first draft of anything, whether it be a novel, short story, song, or poem is vital. It is often difficult to move forward when you know there are weak areas that need to fixed, but it is better to get the framework out of the way. You can always go back to edit it later.
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