Five Tips to Stay Inspired With Your Writing

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Della Galton
  1. Got an idea for a story? Write more than one opening paragraph – it takes the pressure off having to get it perfect. Keep writing openings until you feel the inspiration kick in.  This can sometimes take me a while.
  2. Don’t edit your beginning until you’ve completed the story. It’s very easy to focus so much on perfecting an opening paragraph that you never get to the end.
  3. Don’t end the section you’re writing at the end of a scene break. Stop mid scene, mid paragraph or even mid sentence if you’ve got a good memory! It’s much easier to pick it up again.
  4. We tend to spend much less time on the end of a story.  The right ending can take time. Write more than one closing paragraph.  Then leave the story a week or so before coming back and seeing which one feels right.
  5. When you have a complete first draft. Leave the story another week before you do your final edits.  A student I once taught likened it to putting your story in the ‘naughty cupboard’. When you go back to them they will tell you everything they did wrong. This is so true. Mistakes will leap out after a gap of time that it’s impossible to see when you’re close to your work.
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5 Responses to Five Tips to Stay Inspired With Your Writing

  1. Penny A says:
    May 26, 2016 at 7:39 pm

    If I manage just one of these gems of advice… I think it would be to stop re-editing that first paragraph! (I thought NaNoWriMo might have cured me of this! Not quite.) Thank you.

    Reply
  2. Sue Blackburn says:
    May 31, 2016 at 11:30 am

    It is hard not to edit as you go along I find, but it’s such good advice not to do it.

    Thank you for those gems Della. Much appreciated as always 🙂 xx

    Reply
  3. Lisa Macgregor says:
    June 6, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    Having spent four hours this morning trying to perfect the opening paragraph of my next story and then deleting the lot and finishing my writing session with a blank page I COMPLETELY agree that editing is best left until the very end. It’s just sooo hard to do! :o)xx
    Thanks for all your great posts Della. x

    Reply
  4. Deb Slimm says:
    July 19, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    Hi. I’ve started so many new stories, deleted, started again etc. Ive told myself I am to keep writing. Think I will try this editing the first paragraph at the end. Makes sense….

    Reply

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