5 Tips For Getting Back Into Writing

It doesn’t matter how long you spend away from writing; a month, a year, several years; it’s always going to be difficult to get back into it. Especially if you’re returning to an ‘abandoned’ project.

With that in mind, here are some tips to get you back on track.

Please note; this post focuses primarily on returning to a specific project, in this case a novel, however some of the tips will apply to anyone generally getting back into writing.

1- Join the Writing Community
It’s often said that writing is a solitary pursuit, but there are plenty of likeminded people out there feeling the same. Joining the online writing community surrounds you with published and aspiring writers. Be it through blogging platforms or social media you can find writers like you everywhere – and they’re full of support! Never underestimate the power of a kind word or a nod of encouragement.

2- Re-Read (But do not judge or edit yourself)
If you’ve been away from your story for some time it’s near impossible to continue without reminding yourself of your ‘story so far’. However, do not judge or edit yourself! This comes after the first draft, and it’d be so easy to get caught up editing what you have written already, instead of doing what really matters; telling yourself the story.

3 – Make a List of Scenes
It can be tempting to start aimlessly writing from where you left of, in a haze of confusion about your plot. So, it can be beneficial to write down each scene that needs to be written, and put them on index cards. You don’t need to worry at this stage how these scenes will link, just get down the scenes you know your story needs. Then, start writing them. You don’t even need to do it in order. Write the ones you’re most excited to write first, and you’ll likely inspire yourself and your characters for the other scenes too.

4- Write those scenes – randomly!
I’m not saying don’t write those scenes in the order you set out. You have to write in the way that you prefer. For me, there were times when I had no motivation or inspiration to write the scene that came next. I couldn’t work out how I wanted it and so I was tempted to give up working on my novel until the next day. But then, scouring my list, I saw one scene that I knew exactly how I wanted it to go. So I wrote that instead. It was a few scenes along from where I was at in my novel, so I popped it into a notebook, ready to refer back to when I reach that part. By the time I was finished I was so excited about my story again that I’d figured out how to go back to my next chronological scene and get writing!

5. Visit your Setting (if possible!)
Nothing will inspire you more than experiencing the environment where your characters live/work/explore. See what they will see, smell what they will smell, hear what they will hear. It’s the perfect way to get into their shoes and therefore write accurate descriptions. You may even find inspiration along the way!

Now, I know this isn’t always possible. If your story is set in a different country you can’t just fly on over. But trying to get into a similar environment will be effective too. For example, if you’re writing about a city that you can’t simply visit, go to a city that you can. There will be similarities in the setting. Alternatively, you may not be able to visit your setting because it doesn’t exist! If you’re writing fantasy you may have created your own world. But try again with the similarity thing. If you’re land has deep, dark forests; find a forest! I’m yet to think of a cool example of how to do this if your novel is set in the future! Any ideas? Comment below…

I hope that this blog post has been insightful for you; if even one of these tips provides useful to any one person I will be very pleased.

Happy Sunday, everyone and remember;
Keep writing,

M.L Davis