To be totally excited about my work, I have to believe that what I’m writing is worth reading. Maybe not every word – after all, that’s what the editing process is for – but most of them.
If I’m writing a novel and find myself bored, I stop writing and ask my characters what I’m doing wrong. Sometimes I’m writing from the wrong character’s perspective. Other times, I may be writing something that isn’t valuable to the overall story arc. When this happens, a well-formed character always seem to know how to fix the book. After all, the book is about him or her.
If a character can’t give me the answers I need, then the character himself may need fleshing out. I don’t always complete a character questionnaire (you can find some of my questions here), but it is an invaluable tool. After I’ve completed this questionnaire, my writing is usually back on track.
Even when I have a bad day of writing, it’s still better than my best day doing anything else. What can I say – I’m excited to be writing novels!
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