: Re: Concentration whilst Writing The mental aspect of the physical act of writing is giving me some trouble recently. In other words - I think that I'm thinking too much as I'm writing and it

@Bryan361

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The greatest challenge for new writers is not poor word choice or clumsy sentence construction. First drafts don't die in obscurity from wordiness or inconsistent voice. The great killer of fledgling writing is... failure to finish.

With all due respect for your inner muses and inner critics and for the important roles which they play during the editing and revising phases of your book's birth, they are a distraction and an extreme danger during its vulnerable initial writing phase. Their input, offered too early and in disruption of your writing momentum, should be unconditionally dismissed and ignored. They will get their chance to affect the finished product later when the ink is dry. But not today.

Treat every word that manage to get written as sacred until the final page is finished. Whether it is perfect or not, it is written so it stays. Contain the desire to go back and fix things behind this absolute law, and you may find that the impatience of your muses and critics actually start pushing you towards the finish line. They desperately want their opportunity to help you create great writing, so let them push the bus rather than stand in front of it.

Leave U, V and then W on the page as if they were written in ink on expensive paper, and let Dobby stick to dusting until the first draft is done. Then free all of your invisible assistants from their shackles and let the red pens fly.

Apply a little discipline today, in joyful anticipation of the editing frenzy to come.

Keep Writing!

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