It’s widely known that starting is one of the hardest—if not the hardest—part of most activities.
I’ve already shared how to start the writing process by writing a prayer and brainstorming.
After I do those two things, I am ready to start focusing on whatever my current writing project is—and if I have more than one, I ask the Lord which one He wants me to do that day. If I’m working is a lager project (more than a single blog post), I refer to my Scapple document that has my brainstorm about the project. I look for the part that excites me the most or seems fun to write. Doing what seems fun helps me generate momentum in writing.
If what I’m starting to write is not a larger project, I may choose to start a Scapple document, and list maybe one to five points on the topic.
No matter what I’m writing, I have written a prayer to ask God to write through me. As I look at the zoomed in part of my brainstorm (if I’m doing a larger project) or at the whole brainstorm (if I’m doing a smaller project) , I say one more quick prayer to redirect my mind to the Holy Spirit, saying, “Lord, would you focus my mind on these points and share the words you want me to record about them?”
I then set my timer for an hour.
I free flow type until nothing else comes out.
If I forget what the points were that I brainstormed, I look at the next notes again on my document. If I’m done with all the notes in view on a larger project, I may zoom out a bit look at the next set of notes. Regardless, I keep writing for the hour I’ve blocked for writing is up.
The writing process is really just that simple.
In this early drafting process of a rough draft, it helps you to keep going if you keep in mind that a first draft is like scooping sand into the certain area to make a sandcastle. You have an idea of what you want to build, but it’s only after all the sand is in your area that you later start to sculpt it into something (in the editing process).
If you commit to keep putting new words on the page and not editing as you go—and you set an alarm for the entire time you had set aside to write—you will make progress. Words will get on the page, and you will be better off than when you started.
Writing is like any other habit you start. The first time you go to a gym—or if you go back to the gym after a hiatus, it’s best if you don’t overtrain. For that reason, I say start writing for no more than an hour. If that hour seems like an eternity to you, try 30 minutes.
You will be amazed at how far you get when you start—especially if you have prayed. Be sure to document your progress by recording your word count of drafted words at the end of each writing session. Seeing your numbers add up will really help your momentum grow!
Repeat the process of writing a first draft by looking at new areas of your brainstorm until all your content is written. I have a few more tips to share if you struggle with eradicating your expectations for the first draft.
If you need help getting started, or if you want more tips like these in an interactive format, I invite you to take a course in my course series, Cowriting with the Holy Spirit. Learn about upcoming courses here. Or you may hire me as a writing coach by emailing me at loral@loralpepoon.com, , and I’ll cheer you along step by step.
