I'm having a lot of trouble picking back up where I left off last week. How do you do it?
What happens between you sitting down in front of the computer and you beginning to add words to your work?
I suppose a part of my difficulty is tied to lack of motivation, but a big part of it is not really knowing what to do next after I've opened up my text again.
10 replies
Different for everyone I suppose, but for me: I need downtime, with nothing to do, to get the creativity flowing.
I usually make a list of To-Dos as I think of them while writing, outlining, designing, developing, etc.
When I come back after a break I know what needs to be worked on, where it is (at least roughly), and why it needs work (descriptive To-Dos).
Plus, checking them off gives a little bit of added motivation, at least for me.
Hopefully that's a little helpful. Good luck on your writing :)
I believe this is what might help me most. In order to fill out the list of things to do, I've got to practice asking myself the right questions (or perhaps my outline isn't specific enough 😅 ). Cheers :)
Scan back through. Reading what's already happened resets my brain, up to a point. If the break is day to day, I only go back a chapter, but for longer breaks, I'll go all the way back
I looked into what well-known authors do and I believe it was Stephen King who said something similar. There's also someone that recommended you append a couple line summary of what you wrote at the end of each day. The next day, you can simply read that to get going again.
Oh that sounds like great advice
Same, I'll read through the last bit, make some edits as I see things, then pick up where I left off. Also: OP try to park on a hill where you can - leave off where you know what you want to do next so it's not as hard to get going. Best of luck!
I usually have in the back of my mind what I'm working on next. I've had the most success with just sitting down and writing garbage before the motivation comes, then doing a bit of reading, then just purely adding content not editing or trying to fit the new stuff cleanly at all (I'll often repeat myself and have to delete a lot later, but it's worth it to "prime the pump")
PS. I love this use of the writing community. I think this kind of support and exchange could be really helpful, so thanks for setting a good example.
What works for me is to edit what I wrote the previous day. However, some people will start to doom edit and to spiral because (obviously) it'll be in a rough shape, so I know this doesn't work for everyone.
I found this brief, helpful list: https://peterlyledehaan.com/writing-tips/writing-tips-to-quickly-pick-up-where-you-left-off/