Let’s face it, getting back to writing can be tough. Especially when the holidays come around and we spend lazy days watching films with friends and family. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. Of course, we all let our writing progress slide when the holidays roll around. It’s always difficult for me to return to writing and begin again in the new year. But I found a good tip for coming back to writing that I’d like to share with all of you.
“Don’t look back until you’ve written an entire draft, just begin each day from the last sentence you wrote the preceding day. This prevents those cringing feelings, and means that you have a substantial body of work before you get down to the real work which is all in … the edit.” ― Will Self
This quote from Will Self sounds like a good way to get started again. Rather than going back and reading everything that you’ve written on a project, perhaps refresh your memory with an outline or some notes and then reread the last sentence you wrote. This quote says to reread the sentence you wrote the previous day, but you may be writing after a longer period of time. So maybe reread the last paragraph that you wrote, and then crack on with the writing.
I believe we’re all familiar with those “cringing feelings” that Self mentions in this quote. If you read back what you’ve been writing for the past month or however long you’ve been working on something, you’re bound to come across some writing that wasn’t too fabulous. To avoid coming into contact with that writing (at least until you have to edit), you can take Self’s advice and read the latest thing you wrote.
I hope this advice helps you guys out, and I hope you get back to writing in the new year!
– Jet Fuel Blog Editor, Mary Egan
