Write down everything you DON’T know about your subject. Then chase that.
Hello Loreates,
I have a confession. It’s been months since I started a new work of creative writing. I can no longer blame the book I’m ghosting, as I delivered the final manuscript nearly a month ago, and I just completed correcting the typeset first pass (1P) pages. [If anyone’s interested in a post about the stages of book production, please let me know while it’s fresh in my memory! Actually, please take the poll at the end of this post to see if something else on my mind might interest you more.] My days are mostly my own again, but instead of starting something new, I default to reworking essays that don’t require me to face the blank page.
At the same time, I’ve promised to submit an essay about my relationship with my mother [why, suddenly, does it seem as if everyone I know is writing about their relationship with their mother?] for an upcoming anthology. That hard deadline blinks at me every time I approach my desk. I have ideas for the piece, of course, but kicking myself into gear requires something else. Trickery. Strategy. Fertilizer. Ignition. I’m mixing metaphors intentionally here, because that’s what it feels like to start something new. It’s like planting a seed. Like jump-starting a car. Like priming the pump. Like conjuring possibility out of nothing. There’s no one way to do this thing, no single process to trust.
And so, I find myself scouring my favorite sources for advice and inspiration. Some of which, I thought, might prove useful to you. Hence this post, in which I’ll share the launch strategies that I’m finding most helpful as I begin again.
Coming Live Attractions free @ MFA Lore:
Tune in to MFA Lore’s Well Published! Substack Live series with hot new authors and industry professionals about the truths and tricks of getting… well published!
SAVE THESE DATES for our next Well Published! conversations:
AGENTS TODAY- Live with veteran literary agent Kimberley Cameron, Thursday, Oct. 9, 11am PT.
NARRATIVE NONFICTION- Live with Pulitzer Prize-winner Ed Humes, Monday, Oct. 27, 12 noon PT.
Back to Beginning
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to MFA Lore to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.