6 Simple Ways to Get Out of a Writing Rut

by 3 Comments

 

Writers write in a variety of voices, particularly if they write for several different magazines/blogs/clients/genres/whatever and are professional writers or authors.

However, once you find your writing voice, sometimes it’s easy to get stuck there. This makes it harder to adopt different voices for different venues.

You can still sound like you but still adopt varying tones. For example, something written in a novel will be quite different than something on a sales page even if you still use similar words and phrasings. If you can’t do this, then you won’t be as successful of a writer.

Professional and aspiring writers alike both have to be able to write in several different styles to be successful. A writing rut hampers success and impedes progress.

So, how do you get out of a writing rut?

Feeling burned out by writing? Do all your pieces sound the same? You may be in a writing rut. Use these handy tips to get out of a writing rut fast!

5 Easy Ways to Get Out of a Writing Rut

I’ve fallen into writing ruts several times over my seven-year career as a freelance writer, and I’ve found these tips to be helpful in shaking things up and getting out of a writing rut:

Read More

You knew I was going to say this one, didn’t you? It seems to be my answer for everything. But it is so important. If you feel like your writing is rutted and blah, read something inspirational. I like to read something like The New York Times or The Guardian if I want inspiration for journalism-style writing. If I need more blog inspiration, I’ll read something like Momastery. For writing inspiration, you absolutely cannot go wrong with a classic book like Les Miserables or any of these books that leave a lasting impression.

Try a Writing Exercise

I don’t do this often anymore, but when I first started out, I did a lot of writing exercises. Writing exercises give you a challenge to complete and have you write something specifically on-task. I like to imagine the exercises as if they were pitches for publication in a magazine that I really want to get into.

Take a Break

We all have those days when we know the day is a writing bust from the moment we wake up (or maybe don’t wake up). If you don’t have any looming deadlines, go ahead and take the day off. Do something completely different, like exercise or go for a walk in the sunshine.

Make a Deadline

Too many break days are unnecessary and harmful. At some point, you have to buckle down and do the writing whether you feel like you are in a rut or not. I have a whole list of strategies you can try to motivate yourself when you just don’t feel well or feel like working at all. Push through and be awesome!

Write, Rewrite, and Rewrite Again

It may be possible that you’re in a writing rut because your writing isn’t good. “Good” of course, is highly subjective, but if you aren’t happy with it, regardless of if another person is, it isn’t good writing.

What is the best way to improve your writing? By writing and rewriting. Make a draft and edit like crazy. Eliminate anything that can be eliminated, then consider adding some back in or perhaps adding something else in instead. Try things out and don’t be afraid of the delete button.

What I like to do is save each draft that I create and come back a day, week, or month later (depending on the scope/timeframe of the project) and pick the best parts of each draft to use as the final draft.

It’s also encouraging to see how the idea changed from the start and morphed into the final project. Plus, if you write a famous book, those half-finished drafts will be worth something some day.

Take a Writing Course

A lot of people stop learning once they graduate college, which is silly. There is always more to learn. There are hundreds of resources you can use to learn a new writing style, and many of them are completely free. 

You Don’t Have to Stay in a Writing Rut

Above all, writing should be fun, informative, and entertaining. If you are in a writing rut, you cannot reach your full creative potential. If you feel burned out by writing, you don’t have to stay in your writing rut. Use these tips to pull out of it and get back where you want to be.

Pin this post for later!

Feeling burned out by writing? Do all your pieces sound the same? You may be in a writing rut. Use these handy tips to get out of a writing rut fast!

More Writing Tips Picked for You

Want to write better? These writing tips will help you write better and become a better writer. Want to write better? These writing tips will help you write better and become a better writer. Want to write better? These writing tips will help you write better and become a better writer.

Writing Tip: Use the Grammarly Grammar Editor

by 6 Comments

This post is sponsored by Grammarly, Inc., but all opinions are my own.affiliate

One of the greatest drags about writing is all the rules. Unless you are some kind of grammar freak like I am, then you probably seriously hate having to worry about grammar when you write.

If you are on Facebook, you have probably seen the e-cards that Grammarly puts out (you can view more on the Grammarly Pinterest board) featuring grammar-related humor, like this:

grammarly cards your an idiot

But did you also know that Grammarly has a useful function as well? In fact, the whole point of Grammarly is to help you improve your grammar no matter the occasion, which is of course, something I can get behind 100 percent (take note, I did not use fictitious percentages like 1000 percent).

Features of Grammarly

Basically, Grammarly takes your writing and runs it through a variety of grammar filters. You can choose filters based on the kind of writing it is. Grammarly currently has filters for:

  • Business writing
  • Academic writing
  • Casual writing
  • Creative writing
  • Medical writing
  • Technical writing
  • General writing

Each category has specific sub-categories (like under academic you can select essay, case study, and a variety of others). You also get to choose what errors Grammarly looks for. You can choose vocabulary, spelling, grammar, punctuation, style, plagiarism, and sentence structure. After you select your parameters, you insert your text and grade away!

Right now, there are three pricing options:

  • Monthly at $29.95 per month (billed monthly at $29.95)
  • Quarterly at $19.98 per month (billed quarterly at $59.95)
  • Yearly at $11.66 per month (billed yearly at $139.95)

Obviously, the yearly plan is the best deal, and you can try it free for 7 days before committing to purchase.

irony definition

Pros of Grammarly

I liked the flexibility of different writing styles. Not everything should sound like a graduate paper, which I appreciate about this grammar checker. When I ran a variety of novel passages through the checker (see below), it allowed for a wide range of creative styles.

I did like that putting everything through the filter made me more aware of the grammar pitfalls that I fall into a lot, which was an awesome bonus. It not only is a grammar checker, but also helps you write better!

Cons of Grammarly

For the most part, there weren’t any cons about this grammar checker. The only issue I had with it is that the checker really doesn’t like passive sentences or sentences ending with prepositions. Grammarly also objected to split infinitives, and as you know, I tend to love those. None of these “rules” are actually hard and fast grammar rules, but it does help raise awareness to prevent too many instances of weak writing, which I appreciated.

Occasionally, the grammar advice was clearly off base. The checker wanted to turn this sentence, “He gently freed his other hand,” into “He gently freed another hand,” which makes no sense. 
Best Automated Proofreader

Playing Around with Grammarly

For about 3 weeks, I ran everything I wrote through the appropriate grammar filter. Most of my stuff had a base score of 95 (this post had a base score of 96), which I was pretty happy with. After tweaking, I was able to get most of my stuff to 98 or better.

Just for fun, I ran a few passages from famous literature through the grammar checker to see what score they received.  I found that switching to the correct grammar checker was important. The Crime and Punishment passage had a score of only 89 when I used the general grammar checker rather than the grammar checker for novels. This post had a score of 88 when graded as a dissertation.

The Results

the old man and the seaThe Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Grammarly Score: 100

The passage: “‘The fish is my friend too,’ he said aloud. ‘I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars.’

Imagine if each day a man must try to kill the moon, he thought. The moon runs away. But imagine if a man each day should have to try to kill the sun? We were born lucky, he thought.

Then he was sorry for the great fish that had nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow for him. How many people will he feed, he thought. but are they worthy to eat him? No, of course not. There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behavior and his great dignity.

I do not understand these things, he thought. But it is good that we do not have to try to kill the sun or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers.”

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevskycrime and punishment

Grammarly Score: 95

The Passage: “He went out, trembling all over from a sort of wild hysterical sensation, in which there was an element of insufferable rapture. Yet he was gloomy and terribly tired. His face was twisted as after a fit. His fatigue increased rapidly. Any shock, any irritating sensation stimulated and revived his energies at once, but his strength failed as quickly when the stimulus was removed.

Zametov, left alone, sat for a long time in the same place, plunged in thought. Raskolnikov had unwittingly worked a revolution in his brain on a certain point and had made up his mind for him conclusively.

“Ilya Petrovitch is a blockhead,” he decided.”

harry potter and the half blood princeHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling

Grammarly Score: 96

The Passage: “And Harry saw very clearly as he sat there under the hot sun how people who cared about him had stood in front of him one by one, his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but now that was over. He could not let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort; he must abandon forever the illusion he ought to have lost at the age of one, that the shelter of a parent’s arms meant that nothing could hurt him. There was no waking from this nightmare, no comforting whisper in the dark that he was safe really, that it was all in his imagination; the last and greatest of his protectors had died, and he was more alone than he had ever been.”

Twilight by Stephanie Meyertwilight book cover

Grammarly Score: 100

The Passage: “The blush on your cheeks is lovely,” he murmured. He gently freed his other hand. My hands fell limply into my lap. Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. “Be very still,” he whispered, as if I wasn’t already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then, abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat. I was quite unable to move, even if I’d wanted to. I listened to the sound of his even breathing, watching the sun and wind play in his bronze hair, more human than any other part of him.”

enders game book coverEnder’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Grammarly Score: 93

The Passage: “An enemy, Ender Wiggin,” whispered the old man. “I am your enemy, the first one you’ve ever had who was smarter than you. There is no teacher but the enemy. No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you how to destroy and conquer. Only the enemy shows you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. I am your enemy from now on. From now on I am your teacher.”

This just goes to show you that you can have a wide variety of writing styles and still use proper grammar!

Overall Thoughts

I really like the Grammarly grammar checker and it is an incredibly useful tool for any kind of writer. I imagine it would be the most helpful to students. Even if you just try it for a month, I bet your writing will improve dramatically by the end of the month!

If this sounds interesting to you, you can try Grammarly free for 7 days!

More Grammar Fun

Learning about Prepositions

Active and Passive Voice

Grammar Tips on Twitter

Reader Hooks You Should Emulate

by 2 Comments

One of the best things you can do for any story is to make the first paragraph exciting enough to convince the reader to continue. I fact, your first paragraph may be the most important part of your story. A good book consists of several parts.

1. An intriguing opening

2. A first chapter that makes you want to learn more about the universe or characters

3. Chapter endings that make you want to keep reading

4. An unexpected ending (or a satisfying ending)

If a story has these elements, then it will convince people to read it. Probably the best book I read recently that follows these rules is The Maze Runner. I was so impressed at how James Dashner was able to hold my interest throughout the entire book.

However, your opening line is one of the most important elements of any story. Take a look at some of my favorite opening paragraphs from famous books:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

The Witches by Ronald Dahl

“In fairy-tales, witches always wear silly black hats and black coats, and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy-tale. This is about REAL WITCHES.”

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them.”

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.”

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

“This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.”

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

“He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.”

I like that how even though all of these books are about vastly different things, they all make you want to keep reading. Now that I’m looking at these quotes, I guess I prefer the short and sweet openings. 🙂

What are your favorite opening lines in books? 

Improve Your Writing: 5 Tips for Maintaining Focus

by Leave a Comment

I’ve talked before about how important it is to prevent procrastination and tips for making writing actually happen.

Another important aspect of becoming/remaining a good writer is maintaining your focus. I’m not sure if other writers are like this, but if I am distracted while writing, my writing is choppy and simply doesn’t flow. I must maintain complete focus on my writing and eliminate other distractions. When I do that,5 I can become part of the story and see it all unfold in my mind. It makes it much easier to write that way.

 

If you are the same way, I’ve uncovered some tips along the way that help with maintaining focus:

 

Write in a quiet place. I know a lot of people like to write in coffee shops and the like, but I cannot write well in an environment like that. Perhaps I am somewhat ADD, but all the foot traffic and noise keeps me from truly focusing on what I am doing.

Get comfortable. I don’t like writing sitting straight up at a desk. I don’t know if it is my homeschooling background or simply the fact that my brain functions best when I am relaxed, but for whatever reason, I write better when I feel comfortable.

A theme song can be inspiring. I once read that Douglas Adams listened to the One-Trick Pony album over and over while writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Since then, I have experimented with listening to a variety of song types while writing. For me, the songs can’t be too active or crazy, otherwise I lose focus. Classical music and folk-style music works best for me.

See yourself there. This is especially helpful for fiction writing. I like to imagine the scene as if I were watching it in a movie. What would the camera capture? What would be included in close-ups? That is what I try to describe in detail when writing fiction passages.

Disconnect from the Internet. The Internet distracts me. Some people say that writing on paper is better than writing on a screen, but I have not found that to be so. I type much faster than I write. I prefer to type my writings, but if I have Internet access, I usually waste way too much time. So, turning it off is helpful to me. There are also Internet-blocking apps you can download that will help you stay off the Internet when you are trying to get work done.

 

This is how I stay focused while writing. What are your focusing tips?