Just Write

Turn off your computer. Pull out a pen (or really do me proud and grab an actual wooden pencil) and a pad of paper.

Choose a discrete part of your current writing project—a single character, scene, or background history—that has been troubling you. If you are the unicorn writer without a troubling section (who are you?!), choose a section you want to hone and grime. Without consulting your manuscript, notes, or sources, rewrite that section.

And I mean just write.

Don’t reread. Don’t tweak. Don’t edit. Simply put words down in longhand on the page. When you’re done, and only when you’re done, read what you’ve written and compare it to the original.

What details, words, or characters did you leave out? Should they stay out? Notice any differences in tone, voice, or pace. How do they impact the piece? What are they essential elements of your work, and what belongs in the wastebasket?

*Inspired by The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself by Susan Bell