Today, however, we're talking about the third most popular question people (writers and non-writers alike) ask when they find out what I do and how many books I've written.
Question #3: How do you keep your story going?
Well, that's a good question. And it's also one that takes a little more time to explain.
1. Know what you're writing
I told you on Wednesday I'd tell you how I can tell what I'm writing, even when all I have is a basic idea and a single page of text. It's also one of the best ways I keep myself going. As long as I know what I'm writing, I know how much I need to do and how much I need to put in.
But, to put you out of your misery, I tell between novels and short stories by the characters. If they have a lot they want to say, if even after a page I see that their story is going to take more than twenty pages or so, then I'm writing a novel. If there's not a lot going on, if there's not much that the character wants to cover and they're more inclined to summarize, then it's a short story.
Simple.
2. Headlights-Style
As most of you know if you've paid attention to my blogs, I'm a deer-in-the-headlights style writer. I don't like to know everything that's going to happen in my stories, at least not from the beginning. For me, that takes all the fun out of it. It's more fun if I don't know what's going on — and it's important for me to be having fun with my story, or else I'll get bored and be more likely to walk away.
Again, simple.
3. Don't give up
Obvious. The biggest part of it is that I can't allow myself to give up. I'm not a quitter, not by a long shot. I finish the things that I start, almost all of the time. I do admit that I've given up on five or six novels after a time, but I'm not very happy about it.
Really, this is the biggest thing that I keep in mind. I don't want to give up, I don't like to give up, I don't need to give up. I push on, I persevere, and I keep going.
That's all there really is to it.
[love and pecan pie]
{Rani D.}
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