There are days where I feel less like a writer and more like an imposter. Do you ever feel that way? You want to write, or you just can’t get started.
Today, for example, I need to write my newsletter. It needs to inspire and encourage fellow writers. At times I struggle, when the story isn’t working, my writing lacks luster. Then staring at a blank screen doesn’t help. What next?
Let’s brainstorm together ways of handling this conundrum.
For poetry writing, read some work of a poet you admire. You can do that with any type of writing. Pick a line from a favourite book and create your own spin on those words. Even a perfect phrase from a poem can get you started.
For others, journaling helps. Morning Pages, as recommended by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way, might work for you.
Maybe it’s going for a walk and letting your brain focus on other things. Let it loose to imagine, then go back and write.
Go back to something you wrote months before and refine a page.
This feeling of being stuck happens to novelists, poets, writers in all sorts of genres. But professional writers cannot afford to wait. They must write on demand. Newspaper writers do it all the time.
One of my critique partners shared her mentor’s words, “You cannot edit a blank page.” So don’t worry about your first draft. Tell yourself, “I can do it.” Then go back and write!
If you wish to share your ideas, reply to this newsletter.