| Hi Friend,
If you're doing Nanowrimo, hope your writing is going well.
If you're a Nano rebel, hope your project is humming along beautifully.
Wherever you are in your creative fiction, I hope you're making forward progress.
If you're not making forward progress, you can focus on your weaknesses, what's not going well, and let your inner editor take over.
All useful information... that will only take you so far. And not necessarily back to writing.
Writing happens because you write, not because you think about it.
Okay some thinking is useful; we're talking about the none-useful kind, the analysis-paralysis kind, or the judgmental freeze-you-in-your-tracks kind.
Writing especially doesn't happen is you're focused on how things aren't going as planned.
So what can you do?
Here's my suggestion:
You can focus on what works well for you and take action there.
Knowing your writing process can help you focus on your strengths and what works well.
I'm creating a quiz for you to help you get to know your writing process better.
Here's a sneak peek -- the first two (of eleven) questions of the quiz.
WRITER'S PROCESS QUIZ
Choose all answers that apply.
1. Are you a plotter or pantser?
A. Plotter (You like to plan your story in great detail before you write it.)
B. Pantser (You like to write "by the seat of your pants," trusting your muse and the ability to figure the story out on the fly.)
C. Somewhere in between (You may do some planning and let the story develop as it will go.)
If you know where are you are in this spectrum, I hope you're honoring it.
If you don't know if you like to plan or not, then your first step is to try one method and then the other and discover what works for you.
Many "pantsers" writers who've taken my Plan Your Novel course find it helped them clarify their story and helped them get ready to write it.
Through the class, some "plotter" writers discover they need even more planning and build more tools and techniques into planning their stories.
Still other writers who didn't know where they were in this spectrum discover their own planning and writing process.
The key step here is to take action and discover for yourself if "pansting of planning works for you. Experiment. Play.
2. What is your reward for writing?
A. Writing itself
B. Tracking; words done; pages edited
C. The anticipated reaction of my early readers
D. The satisfaction of my readers
E. Physical: holding the book in hand
F. Reading aloud your work; having another read it aloud
G. Money
H. Fame
I. Respect from my family/friends
J. Other: specify
In #2, I'm asking you to clarify what gets you writing. Knowing this can help jumpstart you when you're stuck.
What did you learn from your answer? What's one thing you can do to help you remember your reward and give it to yourself?
Stay tuned for the whole quiz. Free to all students. It will be in the form of a mini-course and PDF.
Happy Writing!
Best,
Beth
PS. Remember! You have lifetime access to your courses at Barany School of Fiction and all their updates. To access your courses, log in to the school and click on "My Courses." | 
