Shorts

Hi, everybody!

For the month of May, I wanted to get back into writing about writing. After all, it’s a big part of what Too Many Book to Count is all about. The trouble is, I haven’t been writing a whole lot, as of late. Since being brought on as an associate editor at RAD, it’s harder to find the time—and I could’ve sworn I was out of ideas.

That’s where this month’s topic came in. This month, we’re talking about what to do when you’re just not feeling it, when you’re pretty sure your writing is awful and there are no more good ideas to be had.

I know what that’s like; don’t worry.

Today, I have something very simple that I want you to try. It’s also something that I do quite frequently, if not for fun, then to get myself back in the game.

Write a Short Story

And I don’t mean just any short story. I mean that you should go out and write a short story about one of the primary characters in the book you’re currently working on, or in the favorite book you’ve written.

Like I said, I do this a lot—and there’s a reason for it.

See, when we’re feeling out of it and like we don’t have any good ideas whatsoever, it usually just means that we’re a little tired, and our brains probably don’t want to come up with something new. So, don’t. Come up with something attached to one of your other works, but something that isn’t completely necessary to the story as a whole, but it a fun little aside nonetheless. It doesn't even have to be something you'll ever share with anyone, just something that'll get your creative juices flowing.

If you’ve been keeping up on your editions of Mavguard, you’ll know very well that I’ve been writing short stories to go along with each of the Druid Novels, designed to fill in any gaps the book left behind, and to reenter the world of each Dewin before the end comes. It’s great fun, and it’s been an amazing way to keep myself moving when it comes to writing.

After that, after writing a short story that’s reminded me how much I love to write and how much I enjoy doing what it is that I do, it becomes easier to sit down and do some actual writing again.

Perfect, right?

And highly recommended.

Yeah, it means you’ll have to sit down and put some time in, but you would’ve had to do that anyway. No complaining. Go write a short story.

[love]

{Rani D.}