Traction

Mutzi takes a nap.
Mutzi set­tles in.

I try to deliv­er reg­u­lar advice you can use to aid and inspire your young writ­ers, but this week I’m lean­ing on the wis­dom of others.

This is advice I’ve found help­ful those times it feels like my writ­ing wheels are stuck in deep mud and spin­ning wild­ly and I’ll nev­er gain trac­tion again. Here, from a vari­ety of astute advi­sors, are the best tac­tics for when you’re stuck as a writer:

BIC” —children’s writer extra­or­di­naire Jane Yolen

Expla­na­tion: Short for “Butt‚ In Chair,” which means put your back end on a seat­ing device, in front of the key­board, or note­book and pen­cil, and write — whether you think you can do it today or not.

Just Do It” —the Nike brand

Expla­na­tion: Dit­to the above.

Do… or do not. There is no try.” —Yoda, “The Empire Strikes Back” Expla­na­tion: Yoda needs no paraphrasing.

BIC” —Mutzi the cat

Expla­na­tion: Mutzi agrees with Jane Yolen.  Find a chair. Set­tle your back end into it and do what you’ve set out to do (in Mutzi’s case, that’s tak­ing a nap, but in my case, that’s writing).

If you do these things on a reg­u­lar basis, you will be a writer.  You might not always be a good writer.  That’s okay. If you keep writ­ing, you will get bet­ter. And then bet­ter than that.

Plant your back end and have at it — it’s amaz­ing how much trac­tion a person’s back­side can gain.

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