#WWoW! Just Write Your Story!

WoW! Some simple advice for new authors.
Each Wednesday, I offer advice for writers. Today, my guest author Kristen Beairsto has some advice of her own about overcoming roadblocks. She also invites experienced authors to offer up their own advice. Read on!

Although I'm still a relatively new author on the scene, having been published less than a year, there are several things I've learned.  Between marketing, craft, and brand building, I could probably fill dozens of books with what I've discovered along the way.  However, I've come to realize it all boils down to one very simple, one very basic thing -- write.  I know, and I can hear the chorus of "well, duh" peppering through the crowd now.  But it seems so often that a lot of us forget.  The fact is we all struggle with this very simple thing.  We agonize over our word counts for the day, or how many pages we've whipped out in a week, or whether or not we made sure we kept the hero's hair color the same in chapter 15 as we first described it in chapter 2.  The bottom line is, though, none of these are important in the beginning.

The most important thing when starting a new story is to get your story on paper (or in the case of most of us who have moved along with the 21st century -- on the computer).  That's it.  A work in progress is a rough draft.  Let me stress that word -- R - O - U - G - H.  It's not supposed to be pretty and it's not supposed to be polished.  It's okay to have typos peppered throughout and have a few instances where you'll have the heroine sit down when you already had her sit down two paragraphs earlier.  But that's okay!  It will get fixed later, that's what editing is for.  Get the story written down, that's all that matters.  You don't have to edit as you go if it gets in the way of your writing.  I understand many writers like to do some editing along the way, but editing as you write shouldn't inhibit your productivity.  You might find yourself getting more written if you separate your editing from your actual writing and forward progress.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, has said of her own writing revelation, "I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write."  Whenever I get bogged down with my WIP and start thinking about how awful my story is, I think of this quote and remember this is only a rough draft.  Getting the story down is what matters the most.

So, talk to us...
What's your biggest road block when you're working on a new story? What stops you from just writing your story down??

About Kristen Beairsto
In between her to-be-read pile and trying to bring the characters in her head alive, Kristen spends as much time as she can with family and friends.  Much to her husband’s dismay, she enjoys collecting purses, shoes, and jewelry.  During those rare times she’s not working at her day job, rushing her daughters somewhere, watching movies with her husband, and trying to meet a deadline, she can usually be found energetically cheering for one of her favorite New York sports teams.

As with just about every other writer on the planet, Kristen grew up an avid reader.  She started with young adult before she technically hit the age range and moved on to sci-fi classics by Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury.  At fifteen, her best friend gave her a book she just had to read!  The book was Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts.  Always a sucker for a happy ending, she was a goner and fell in love with the romance genre.  Having started writing novel length stories at the age of eleven, Kristen’s stories all took a romantic turn from that point on.

You can connect with Kristen through her website, facebook, or twitter.

Kristen's new release:
Going After the Heart. 
Lizzy Bergstrum thought she finally reached a point in her life when she could honestly say she had it all.  A thriving writing career.  A wonderful daughter.  And a marriage to the love of her life.  But looks can apparently be deceiving because her husband just walked out on her and their eight year old daughter hates her.
Now facing a daughter who blames her for everything, an irritated husband, and a small town that feeds on the drama, Lizzy finds herself trying to figure out how to convince Gavin to give her another chance, teach her daughter it takes two to make a successful marriage, and overcome her own insecurities – all without compromising who she is.

NOW AVAILABLE at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.

______________________________________________________

WWoW is a Smart & Savvy Group of Authors who host this feature each Wednesday.
While we don't claim to be experts, the goal is to impart what we've learned about 
writing, editing, getting published, book promotion, and more along the way.

Follow along and read all this week's contributors' posts.

Paloma Beck  |  Lacey Wolfe  |  Melinda Dozier |  Tammy Dennings Maggy

You can follow us on twitter at #WWoW.

Or find us on facebook at Words of Wisdom.

We also welcome more authors' participation. Sign up is through our facebook page.