How to restart your writing practice when you have neglected it for moths or even decades.
Restarting a writing practice is always a practice of remembering that you did not quit just yesterday. You have spent some time and lost some ground. Like the athlete or martial artist returning to a gym , swimming pool, or training floor under the same circumstances, you are going to have to remember to slow down, adjust, and ease back into your practice. Everyone is different and there are lots of things to try. Use what works for you and forget the rest entirely, or add them in as you go. It’s up to you. You are the one trying to relearn how to juggle a dozen things.
Read a book to restart your writing practice
To write you need to fuel the process with what you have read. Reading is the basis point for a writer. It is also likely a key player in the murder of your process the last time. Skipping your reading is like passing up gas stations on the highway. The production loss is subtle warning light that is often ignored. If you are not careful, you are going to find yourself out of gas. When your out of words read gas, you are out of things to type. Your practice is suddenly dead right before your eyes. So start there. Read something. Anything will work, as long as you might write about it. Here’s a great starter list for most writers to fill their tanks on. So how do you do that?
Glad you asked. That means your writing practice restart starts with a reading practice habit restart first. I suggest you find a time, like say half an hour or so to start, you that works for you like the evenings before bed. Just make sure you do not put it in where you will be writing later.
A Witting Practice Restart Needs Fuel
Reading fuels the life of legendary writers. Steven King is well know for his production work. The man cracks out a book in just three months. How does he do this? He reads. Not just a little either. King laments the the fact that he has so little time that he can only read about 80 books a year, one and a half a week. That is a one two habit combo that has rocked the book world since Carrie was published in 1974.
Most of the rest of us can only stand on the side to applaud and gawk. Our lives are filled with movies, projects, hobbies, family, friends and the list goes on. Leave us not mention the need to work outside of writing to keep the lights on, eat and other little life details like that. Our writing practice restart just hangs there like those unused dance shoes we bought for learning the tango.
Steven King Keeps His Writing Fuel in Hand
The key is to remember that to be a writer is to be disciplined. You have to work to make writing work. When your inner critic starts up about this, remind him that Steven King once said, ‘If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.’ So read. Develop the habit and stop whining.
King also passes along a tip to adjust to reading more. ” Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life. I take a book with me everywhere I go, and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in. The trick is to teach yourself to read in small sips as well as in long swallows.”
Realx as You Develop Give your Writing Practice Restart Time to Grow
Don’t over think your process. It’s real easy to compare yourself to other more advanced writers, such as indie arthor Helen Scheuerer, or worse the glory of your own past. The fact is Helen Scheurer took years to get where she is and started where you are. You need to as we used to say in the Marines when out on a hump, just put your head down and march. As for your past, well by now it is likely that that glorious view you have has had a big dab of Vaseline on the lens for a long time. You can not live the present in the past anyway, so don’t. Sit down and type. Forget trying to measure up. Just enjoy where you are now. You will not be there forever, so try to enjoy the view you have now.
Another issue that pops up is guilt. Guilt is natural and normal. It’s the conscience’s way of telling us we have missed a step, such as hurt someone. In this case though it might be hitting us for not getting our work done or all the wasted time we have lost.
Fortunately we can deal with guilt most effectively by dealing with it directly instead of putting things off. The strategy is simple. Make amends and start changing your habits.
For example you can compensate for your wasted time binge watching Netflix over the weekend by breaking down the project times you would have normally used to smaller chunks over the coming week to make amends to your writing restart practice.
Revisit Your Past Writing
You, more specifically your past work, is an excellent place to warm back into writing. Look at what you have done a bit to see where you have been and what you have still unfinished. This is a great way to gain some perspective on where you are now and gain some momentum. It also does a great job killing those memories of how great you were way back when. Less glory seeking from the past. More work now. As Steven Pressfield is famous for saying, “Do the work.”
Restarting your writing process is also a haven for writer’s block. So a trip into the past can give you some ideas you might be able to use now. Many a writer has looked back through their stacks to find an unfinished manuscript then stuck it back into the forge to find they have a fine story at the end.
The main reason your old works failed and they are a gem now is simple. You have changed since them. You have perspective, experience, and sharper eyes for story and plot lines (even if you have not kept up with your writing skills) from all the stories and writing you have been exposed to in the time you first penned that book. Remember reading is the fuel for writing. That fuel has been looking for a book or article to go into. You have a lot of it on hand. Use that to to restart your writing practice.
Getting Your Writing Practice Restarted
Once you have some momentum from a good foundation, the rest is just time and keeping on the path to mastery. That is all for now.
Tomorrow, we will do Part 2 of Writing Restart Practice after a Long Hiatus.
Photo by Ijaz Rafi onUnsplash
