Fondling Your Muse

I love reading. But not just anything. Some writers arrest me on the spot and shackle me to their page. But others fail to keep my attention: I soon start playing with the cat or surf off to other sites.

Our readers are exactly like that. Their attention is fickle and they will wander off if we don't grab them with our words.

That's why it's important to seize them from the moment they hit the page and get them to read our stuff in one gulp. In the following five steps I'll show you how to glue readers to your page, whether you're writing a blog post, an article, or a book.

( 1. Sweep in; don't creep in. )

Source: WriteToDone

"Habits are first cobwebs, then cables." - Spanish proverb

This, friends, is the linchpin: if you can create the habit of writing, you've got a wonderful foundation as a writer.

If you struggle to get in enough time for writing, or keep putting it off, or can never seem to write when you planned to write … you need to work on creating the habit of writing.

Think about it for a moment — if you could write consistently for an hour (or two) a day:

* You'd write a whole lot over the course of a month, or a year. Your output would be prodigious.
* You'd meet writing deadlines, because procrastination wouldn't be a problem.
* Your writing would improve, simply from the amount of practice you'd be getting.
* You'd feel great about your writing, which in turn would motivate you to keep going.
* You'd solve the problems of war and world hunger, from the brilliance of your writing.

( Well, the last item might be a bit of a stretch. )

Source: WriteToDone

This community is designed to be a place where writers can post both their joys and frustrations with the creative process. This is not a place to post fic or original stories, but rather the writing process itself.

We want to hear what you're blocked on. We want to know how you got past that block. We want to hear your latest plotbunny. You can share where you got your latest inspiration, or share your writing links or tips you've picked up here and there. Vent about a character who is not doing what she's supposed to do. Anything and everything about the writing process is welcome here.