I go to a lot of writing workshops, seminars, retreats, etc., etc. This is the way; I very much relate to the classroom situation. Recently I told my writing group about a class at the 2022 Gen Con Writer’s Symposium on how to finish your book. My friends wanted the dets, and I thought I might as well share them with y’all, too.

How to Finish? Get to the End

Canadian fantasy author Marie Bilodeau gave an excellent presentation entitled “Getting to the End.” Bilodeau identified two main areas of difficulty for us writers trying to finish manuscripts: Issues with the story and issues with ourselves. In this blog I’ll focus on the personal problems that stand in the way as we crawl toward the book finish line.

Love Yourself

Creatives (and everyone else, for that matter) have a head full of negative voices that criticize us and call us names. Stop it. You are not a lazy procrastinator. You’re here, trying to tell a story. But, are you stressed, overcommitted, and hurt? Are the creative wells dry? Do you allow yourself time to think about the book? That counts, too. Be kind and self-nurturing. Treats for meeting smaller objectives are good. Reasonable deadlines motivate many of us. (Emphasis on reasonable.)

Show Up in Order to Finish Up

If possible, show up to the writing in some way, every day. We lose the story thread with time off. I can attest to this. The best thing I’ve done for my work-in-progress this summer is revise a scene every day. (Most days, at least. And I can tell the difference when I take a day off.) Thoughts about the story count as writing, as does doodling in your notebook, brainstorming with friends, researching, or taking a mediative walk.

I’m also a firm believer in using my “best” time for the most important activities. For me that means writing first thing, before the social media rabbit hole. It’s also adjacent to “eat the frog” first, i.e., get the least fun stuff over with first.

Perfection is not Your Friend

The inner critic voices must be silenced to accomplish anything creative. It’s hard. Little mind games can help. Call that first draft an outline. Realize that the first draft is only 25% (at most) of the story creation work. You’ve got lots of time and room for corrections and trouble shooting.

I’ve found that the story only reveals itself to me in the writing. I can (and have) thought about it for years, but the page is where the narrative unfolds, the characters talk to me, and the plot holes fill themselves in.

When stuck, try an option, any option. You can change it later. Or skip the problematic scene. Work on something else or take a walk.

Love Your Story

Always keep in mind the things you love about your story. It’s easy to let the critical voice in your head bad mouth your ideas as derivative, cliched, poorly executed, or just plain stupid. Keep a list of your stories fine point handy. When it comes right down to it, you’re writing this story to please yourself, after all. What do you find pleasing?

Sometimes the story itself has an issue, not fatal, but an issue that is bothering the writer on some deep unconscious level. The problem presents itself as a tendency to procrastinate. We call it writer’s block. Let’s delve into that craft talk in another blog.

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How about you? Do you love your stories, art work, and game scenarios? What’s your best tip to keep working? I’d love to hear your ideas. Comment on the blog. Navigate to my website, click blog title, and complete dialogue box that will open at the end of the post.    

If you enjoyed this journal entry, you might like to read about Thought Distortions.

I started this blog thread on the gritty details of the writing process over on my Facebook Author page, @kbkathylbrown, but think I might be better served putting it over here. If you’re interest in following my writing process in an informal way, you’ll find a few posts on Facebook that might interest you. You can subscribe to the blog from the website landing page (scroll down).

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor

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