Obstacles in the Writing Process

My comment to Fiona McIntosh’s blog entry about obstacles in the writing process at Voyager Online:

Hi Fiona! Thank you so much for your deep insights into the writing process. I am currently writing a non-fiction book about moving beyond limits, creating a great life and speaking out. Your blog post “The Obstacle Course of Writing” has given me hope that I will finish my own book within a time frame.

So far, I have changed my chapter titles and my content very often so that I have not been able to finish it until today. I agree with you about the importance of pushing the book forward, and about setting a deadline for finishing it. It won’t get any better anyway, will it?

A writer’s blog exists when you believe that you need to write perfectly, and when you think that your first draft has to be so excellent that it doesn’t need to be improved anymore. However, if you just sit down and write what comes to your mind about the topic, then your block will disappear sooner than you can believe!

Thank you again for your personal thoughts and experiences about the writing process; I am sure it has helped me to move forward with my own book.

Andrea

This is a short list of suggestions as to how you can get your book finished sooner than expected:

- Set a realistic deadline and stick to it.
- Move the book forward every time you write; don’t spend time on revising what you have already written.
- Write each day for at least 30 minutes or however much time you might be able to dedicate to writing. If it’s more than that, then it’s even better!
- Do not read comments or reviews on work that you have already published.
- Don’t be afraid of rejection. The reasons why you might be rejected vary a great deal and most of them are not of a personal nature.
- Keep on writing, improve your quality and submit your manuscripts over and over.