Improving as a Writer

As I gear up to get serious about my second book, I am putting some pressure on myself to improve as a writer. I want my story to be better than the last. But whenever I approach it from a more formal, structured place, it does not feel right. I think it is because I just want to write and enjoy the experience. I don’t want to worry about literary devices and using the proper writing terminology—I just want to be creative and have fun with it!

I'm sure others feel the same way.

So, this is what I propose. If you would like to join me, we could try some ad hoc, whimsical, creative writing—with a purpose. What I mean by this is that if we have a use for these writing exercises, we will not feel like we are wasting our time writing just for writing's sake, just because we think we should. Instead, the time spent on this writing can go towards something BIGGER.

What do I mean by this?

What I mean is that if we practice writing in a focused way—we write with a common theme or story in mind—then these exercises and the writing that comes from them will be connected, can be used together in a future story, and the time spent will not have been in vain.

With this in mind, I challenge you to consider the story you want to write. If you are not sure what you want to write about, consider a theme that interests you. Love, for example. Then, as you receive and complete these writing exercises, you use your story or theme as inspiration and write about it—this is what I meant when I suggested we use our practice for something bigger. Once complete, you will be able to pull these amazingly imaginative pieces of writing you have created into your main story, and they will lead the way in making it an even better story than you imagined.

Check out my YouTube video on this topic!