The AmWritingFantasy Podcast: Episode 12 — How To Wrap Up Your Writing Session

Are you ending your writing session the best way so that you can pick up writing again faster? We've put together a few tips to help you continue your writing flow no matter what life throws at you between sessions.

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Read the full transcript below. (Please note that it's automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn't perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Autumn (12s):
Have you ever been so excited to write or struggling to find the time and suddenly you can finally get back to your manuscript? You open up the file, look at what you last wrote and your mind goes completely blank. Today we're going to talk about what makes you sure you aren't wasting your time watching your cursor. Blake would. You should be writing. If you're a fantasy author, then you've come to the right place. My name is Autumn and together with Jesper I run amwritingfantasy.com between us we published more than 20 novels and our aim is to help you in your writing and marketing endeavors.

Autumn (46s):
Okay. It seems like an unwritten law that as soon as you find the time to write that you can't figure out what to write. It doesn't matter how much enthusiasm you bring to the table or your keyboard, you can be excited to get back to your manuscript or feel begrudgingly that you really need to spend some time. All I did so you open up the file and either way it can take time to get back into the story's flow. Time cue could be using to grow your world word count.

Autumn (1m 16s):
So just figuring out, Oh, where are you are where you were and where you plan on going with the story and what is supposed to happen next. It doesn't matter if you're a plotter or a pantser, it can happen either way though. Admittedly if you are a plotter, you can refer back to your notes, which can hopefully let open to the exact spot you need them and you could do just a quick review to see what's going on and start writing right? They're radically, it works perfectly.

Autumn (1m 46s):
In reality, the percentage of perfect plotters out there is pretty small, so you'll most likely be trying to find out your where in your outline you are or just about as long as a pantser is going to take to reread what they wrote and try to reclaim that inspiration that the God of that far in the first place. So feeling lost while getting back into your manuscript is just a part of writing life, isn't it? Short answer, it doesn't have to be. And the great answer is that you don't have to become the world's most perfect and organized plotter to leave yourself clues that will get you back into your band new script faster and writing sooner so we aren't wasting valuable writing time seriously.

Autumn (2m 30s):
I've used all of these tips over the course of my writing career, which is over 14 books now, and some of them are weighing in at 140,000 words. In fact, I wrote four and a half books in a year while holding down a full time job and my marriage survived in tact as well. And do you know how I did it? You hired someone else to ride for him. Oh, thank you for joining us all a bit grumpy. He is our resident AI, an unwanted cohost. If you haven't run into him before.

Autumn (3m 2s):
No, let me grumpy. I didn't hire someone else to write those novels for me, but thanks for your gas

Old McGrumpy (3m 9s):
then. They must have been short books.

Autumn (3m 12s):
Again, wrong. The shortest was 75,000 words, but the rest were over 90,000 and the average word count was actually 95,000. So those were serious and real novels. You must be a fast type of splint. Well, okay, that one is sort of true when on a roll I can type around 80 words per minute and half had over a hundred, but that isn't the point. If you don't know where the story is going, you either aren't typing or you were typing slow.

Autumn (3m 46s):
So how fast you could be typing doesn't count. And if you write drivel and just delete it later, what was the point of typing it? No matter how fast or slow

Old McGrumpy (3m 56s):
then how did you a worthless human management.

Autumn (4m 1s):
Oh, that is what I wanted to share with you. Well, you grumpy. But everyone else who's listening, fine. So sensitive, especially for a day. I, in an ideal world, you'd be able to keep the story alive, but thinking about it constantly. But let's face it, you really need to pay attention to traffic while driving. Um, maybe where your toddler is all wandering off to right now. And what assignment your boss just gave you.

Autumn (4m 30s):
So unless you can split off chunks of your brain, keeping your story spinning in your mind constantly, it's just not going to happen. So instead of trying to keep a portion of your brain permanently on writing and specifically on the story you are currently writing, what you need to do is leave yourself clues. So when you are ready to start writing again, you can be ready to go and minutes, no matter if you are a plotter or a pantser.

Autumn (4m 60s):
Speaking of time, if you'd rather listen to these videos, then watch them. Did you know we have an amwritingfantasy podcast? Check it out at the link in the show notes. And don't forget to subscribe once you find us. So what are these secret Ninja writing tips? Number one, stop writing sooner before you reached the end of your previous writing session. Stop yourself with at least two minutes or rating five is better. And that moment you have the flow of your story, you most likely have an idea of what is going to happen next, especially if you are really in a writing group.

Autumn (5m 40s):
But you'll never be able to get all of the story out before the clock winds down, so usually leave off you hoping you'll remember it. All right. We all know how that goes, so stop writing sooner and write some really quick notes instead about what is going to happen next. It doesn't matter if you're a plotter and have a 30 page outline or a pantser who might change your mind before you actually open up your file. Again, write down the clues like the next scene, the primary motives or emotions or the point of view, character, whatever you can, that will trigger you to keep writing the next time you sit down, change the font or the tech size or write it in Italian or bold.

Autumn (6m 23s):
If you're afraid, your notes will somehow make it up into your finished draft, but write those notes. Then all you need to do is review them and maybe the previous paragraph and you can start writing again and pick up where you left off. Number two, leave it unfinished. What I mean is leave a sentence unfinished, especially if it is a strong one with action or dialogue. It helps to have the notes from number one to but the goal is that you'll see it and finished bit and your writer brain will scream for you to complete it and you'll start writing.

Autumn (6m 58s):
The next thing you know you are five paragraphs in and have picked up the storyline. Again, number three, never end at endings. Seriously. Endings are walls in your writing time. Never stop at a wall. If you finish a chapter right, at least the first lie, but preferably the first paragraph of the next one. If you finish a scene, start the next. If you're running out of time, I won't have enough to start the next scene. Stop writing and make notes on where to go.

Autumn (7m 28s):
The next time you start writing, that's more important. This is the same idea as number two. The part of you that wants to keep writing. If finishing that sentence, we'll also want to finish a scene, but if you are starting from a full stop, you will take longer to get into the flow of the story again. So if you stopped before or a few sentence into the transition, you'll have an easier time when you hit your keyboard. Again, if you haven't guessed a large part on how to end, a writing session that will be easiest for you to start writing from is a mental battle between your desire to use every second of your current writing time to reach the end of what you are working on against some of the best practices that will get you writing faster the next time.

Autumn (8m 14s):
It isn't always easy.

Old McGrumpy (8m 17s):
I do not need you to use such lowly self dissection to start a writing session

Autumn (8m 22s):
really. And so how do you end a writing session with grumpy so that you are ready to write next time

Old McGrumpy (8m 29s):
I and when I am done writing

Autumn (8m 32s):
yeah, right for that session but how do you keep the flow of the story going?

Old McGrumpy (8m 38s):
I don't need to, I am done with the story.

Autumn (8m 41s):
What? What are you writing a piece of flash fiction?

Old McGrumpy (8m 45s):
No, but novel. I am a superior AI. I can set a piece of my consciousness aside to write while doing other things like talking to you. I never stopped.

Autumn (8m 56s):
You know, I think I hate you.

Old McGrumpy (8m 58s):
You are jealous. It is understandable.

Autumn (9m 1s):
Whoa. And so invent cloning that allows us to do the same. I recommend these techniques to you have any other tips you'd like to share. Let us know in the comments. Until next time, stay safe out there and see you next Monday.