No matter how much I learn about writing, I feel like I will never know enough.

In a way, that can be a good thing. No one is perfect, after all, but when I learn something new, something that seems so common sense…I can’t help but get a little disappointed that I didn’t figure out the ‘trick’ sooner.

Ok, I should probably explain! I recently started getting newsletters by author Holly Lisle. (You can follow her by clicking This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or here, but I found her here which is where I joined her FREE writing classes.)

Anyway, moving on to the main point! Her recent e-mail talked about only writing the ‘good stuff’. My eyes glazed over at first. I mean, the tip seemed so obvious! Of course a writer wants to only write good things, but I kept reading and eventually got to the main point. It wasn’t about producing good literature, but about writing what you want to write: The stuff you find fun.

However, the message didn’t end there. She went on to talk about something I have done that should have been avoided. I’ve been guilty of pushing myself through a section that held no interest to me, or bad section. Why? Because I felt it was necessary to write the bad section in order to get to the good section / fun section.

As Holly Lisle pointed out, if I don’t want to write it, why would my reader want to read it? I mean, if that particular chapter or piece lacked any appeal to me, why would a reader find any appeal in it?

Now, that doesn’t mean the work has to be scrapped, it just means something is wrong with the scene. After all, if I feel it lacks interest, then so will the reader. The best way to go about fixing it is to figure out why you’re not enjoying it and then make it more enjoyable. If that doesn’t work, asking a fellow writer can be especially helpful. So, next time I feel like I’m suffering through a section, I’m going to look at the problem and ask the writers in my writing group for help.

Photo Credit: Steve Johnson