Embrace the imperfection in your story writing.

This is the 6th day of NaNoWriMo. Many writers get stuck because they can't finish the first paragraph. Others get stuck because they can't beyond the first paragraph.

When readers start a novel their minds are looking to get into the story right away. There's only one way to go and that is forward.

They have no idea how long it took the author to agonize over each word or sentence before placing it just so. That reader just wants to see your story and have a grand ol' time.

How can you learn to give the people what they want and learn to move forward?

Most writers are readers, and most readers are used to seeing a story just play out. What you may not know is that writers don't necessarily write the stories as the readers read them. They have a few, sometimes more than a few, rounds of revisions and editing. I'm talking about the pros here. If their work can stand a few rounds of revision then why do we feel that we must put everything down on the page perfectly in the first pass as it is meant to be read in its final form?

Before the galley copies and the proofreading like your livelihood depends on it this is your chance to have fun, to try something new. To experiment with the imperfect; learning to enjoy the process of imperfect writing on the first pass.

Let's try a writing experiment

This will take four (4) word sprints of 15 to 20 minutes.

• In your first word sprint write an action-packed scene with multiple characters in your story as you normally would.
• In your second word sprint, try to write that same scene as retold from a different character's POV.
• If you are writing from an omniscient narrator's POV, do the same thing with a word sprint for an action-packed scene. Try changing that narration to a first-person POV of a character.
• For the last word sprint trying switching the scene from an omniscient narrator to a character who is the least knowledgeable about what's happening as the exciting scene unfolds all around them. This could be a stranger passing by, an animal, or a small child.

Read these back and see if there's one version that draws you in more than the others. Is the most interesting scene version written in a POV that you weren't initially using to write your story?

Of course, you can go back and rewrite the scene the normal way that's consistent with the rest of your story and get even more words toward your goal as long, as you don't delete the words from the initial word sprint! You're welcome.

Did you try this experiment? I'm curious to know if your POV on writing imperfectly has changed. Let me know by using #amadvox on twitter and I'll be sure to check them out.

By now you have a new way to move forward in your novel and keep the interest of the reader top-of-mind vs. the writer who is hesitant to let your story out!

LINKS:
NaNoWriMo website prompts

Twitter

• @NanoWordSprints
• @Nanowrimo

Find prompts on chatnano.net

With this exercise, you'll be able to reduce the dread in moving forward in writing your story and ramp up the excitement where your reader can't wait to read what you write next!

Tune in next time for tools and tips to get you fired up and ready to rock your next writing session.

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