Monday Writing Motivation: Set yourself up for a creative 2024
And a very happy, if belated New Year to you, too!
I love new years and the opportunity they afford us to start afresh with new projects, new determination and a tankful of refurbished energy.
But the new year doesn’t always coincide with the start of a new story. More frequently, we begin the year with a sigh, open the folder we optimistically named ‘Novel/Screenplay 2023’. Trouble is, it’s only 18742 words long and we’ve more or less forgotten where we’d got to…
Or who precisely the protagonist was…
Or where the story was heading…
Picking up a stale project after a gap of weeks or months or even years can be really difficult. You might have lost that initial impetus, but you’re still convinced there’s a story there. You might indeed (o joy!) be rather impressed by a passage, or a turn of phrase, or even with the whole underlying idea.
But the fizz has gone out of it.
So what do you do?
It’s time to go back to basics – to the range of skills that underlie all creative writing. You need to consider your characters and ask whether you know enough about them. Do you, most importantly, know what your protagonist hungers for?
You need to interrogate your story: is it suffused with conflict – the tension between what your protagonist wants and who and what stands in the way of his getting it? Have you sufficiently considered the structure of your story? Does a simple chronological telling of the tale do justice to its inherent drama?
You need to look again at the point of view you’ve adopted. Is your point of view calculated to excite the maximum degree of suspense possible? Does it shed light on your character?
Need some help? Join our first webinar of the year where we’ll talk about planning your writing year. You can ask us any questions about:
- Creating good writing habits
- Planning a new writing project
- Rejuvenating an existing project
- Developing your characters and story
Use it as a way of turning this new year into one of the most satisfying, creative years of your life.
Happy writing
Richard
