I asked writers about getting past writer’s block, their proudest moments and their biggest worries when sending work to an editor. Here’s what they told me.
This is my joint-50th blog post.
Why joint?
I wanted to do something different to mark this silver milestone, so I put a callout on social media and to my mailing list, asking editors and writers two different sets of questions. I had so many fantastic responses, I decided to make two blog posts.
If you’re a writer, you may find it interesting to read the editors’ responses. I asked them about their biggest editing challenges, what they wish authors knew about the editing process, and their biggest worry when returning work to a client. You’ll discover that we editors are a friendly bunch, and that we aren’t here to judge your work, but to put in many hours of editing and years of experience to ensure your work gets the shine it deserves!
Here’s what the writers told me:
Albina Ahmed
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
I put my work out in front of the world without having any prior experience. When I started receiving some very positive and precious comments and messages I felt, “Yeah, here I belong.”
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
That forever cringe that I am missing something (e.g. I can write far better!)
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
My mother detects the inconveniences. And I fear that I still have a lot to finalize. We often discuss them (quite loudly!!!)
Kathy Brasby
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Stream-of-conscious writing helps me. I can put on appropriate music for what I want to write and listen to the music. Close my eyes. Relax. Then start writing, even if it’s just “I have nothing to say today but I’m going to keep writing until I do.” Eventually something comes and I can start building on it.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
I just self-published a book on hope which is now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. I’m launching the book at the end of the month.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
I worry about whether my craft is good enough. I probably should worry more about whether I am meeting the needs/genre/audience of the editor.
Hank Cunnington
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Pull inspiration from another source. I will create Pinterest boards for each of my characters or even for the setting of my book. It is also helpful to watch YouTube videos about writing, or even to come to social media and read about writing! Anything can spark that little bit of inspiration we need, we just have to look for it.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
I am most proud of finishing my Creative Writing BA. It is 100% not necessary in order to be a successful writer, but I am a long-time nerd and a big fan of school, so it felt like the right direction for me. I have learned countless invaluable skills from my professors over the years. It has been a great journey that I hope to continue into graduate school.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
That I will realize some big mistake in the text after it’s already too late. I have to force myself not to look over my work after I have hit Send! I need a little bit of time before I touch it again.
Kimberly de Witte
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Taking a walk to clear your head. Not putting too much pressure on yourself. I use this tip when I have insomnia too…the words will come when the words come, just like sleep will come when sleep comes. Worrying about it just causes anxiety. Getting together with other writers. I have a writers group and just talking to them for an hour or so sparks so many ideas! I also have a few groups that I meet with virtually from time to time.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
Finishing my first novel! It took me three years and COVID, but it’s completed to the point that I’m querying for agents and sharing it with friends and family. My book club read it one month (most stressful!) and loved it.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
I am not at the editor stage in my writing journey yet, but I think I would be most worried that an editor would change things to the point that I didn’t feel like it was my writing anymore.
Leanne Evans
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Have a home and work–life balance/taking time for yourself; be forgiving towards yourself for periods of time where you are unable to write; go for a long walk and let your mind relax. I always take a little notebook (just in case); have a warm bath and read a good book; listen to music (my second love to writing).
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
I am most proud of beginning to share my writing with the world. I lived in fight or flight mode for over 40 years and fear of what others would think. The first time I spoke out loud, said, “I am a survivor,” and shared my work with others, was my proudest moment.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
That I will be judged as a writer by the editor.
Melissa Giomi
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
If I’m experiencing writer’s block, I do my best to get out in nature! It calms me and takes my mind off whatever is feeling blocked. I am distracted from the worry and frustration and, since a lot of what I write involves nature, I often get some good ideas and pictures in my mind for what to write next. Nature brings me joy, so that frustrated and anxious feeling of writer’s block often dissipates and I can move forward. It sometimes takes a day or two, but just getting out of the freaked-out, frustrated mindset makes all the difference for me.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
I am proud that I actually have a published book in my name. Divine Encounters was released on 24 August, 2022. I began writing, for myself, to help me get through some difficult times about 10+ years ago. I never imagined at that point that it would all come together one day in a book! I’m proud that I put myself and some of my private thoughts out in the world and it’s getting a lot of positive feedback. That is a great feeling!
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
I’m good at writing, but comma placement and the dreaded semi-colon are not my friends and I cringe just imagining my editor looking at all the comma nonsense and shaking her head. I also have some anxiety, because sometimes the editor is the first person outside of friends/family to read my writing. It causes a bit of anxiety wondering how marked up the first round is going to be.
Nsisong (Cici)
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Don’t treat it as a block, treat it as a refill light. Then refill your soul and mind with the kind of material you want to write.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
I am proud of all my work. But being paid more than $1/word was awesome.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
I worry about being ghosted. I can handle anything else.
Elizabeth Pridgen
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Turn to outlets such as reading, watching movies/TV shows, listening to music or doing something new and out of your comfort zone.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
Probably self-publishing my own novel at 21.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
That the work will be too much and too overbearing for the editor.
JF Rogers
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Walk away from the blinking cursor. What is getting you stuck? Is it where to go next? Or how to solve a specific problem? Write the question down, then take a walk. Wash some dishes. Go for a drive in the car. Go somewhere that inspires you. Do something that doesn’t require much brain power—something automatic so the back of your mind can keep churning the question over and over until you get your ‘a-ha’ moment. Then go back to the screen when you can and keep writing.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
That I keep going. I finished my first book. Learned from that and fixed it. Then I wrote another. And another. With each project I’ve been afraid that I won’t complete it, that I won’t be able to keep going as a writer. But I have. Whatever that next thing is for you, just keep making steps toward completing it. Don’t look too far ahead. Just look at what’s next and do that. In the words of Dory, “Just keep swimming.”
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
I was blessed to find the right editor straight away. We’ve been working together for years now. At this point, she just knows there are certain things that aren’t my strong suit…like commas to avoid run-on sentences, being repetitive, and lacking description. She just tells me where to cut or add more and I do. But every time I send her my best work that’s been critiqued and run through ProWritingAid, she still suggests tons of corrections! She’s truly amazing and she’s right 99% of the time.
My biggest encouragement I can give others when working with an editor is to not worry. Just send the editor your best work and give them the freedom to do their job and make it shine. Sometimes they’re wrong, so ask questions when you don’t understand something. But go into it with the attitude that they’re there to help. You need them. Trust me. Every writer needs a good editor.
Bethany Rossiter
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
I honestly find the best thing to do is to stop trying. Sounds odd I know, but I’ve spent ages trying to get over a hurdle in my plot with little success. When I give up, let my mind rest and stop thinking so hard, more often than not, that is when inspiration strikes.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
I’m just proud of the fact that I’m actually writing my first original novel. I’m about a third of the way through the first draft. I also love that people like my writing, judging by feedback I’ve had from excerpts I’ve shared.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
I’m new to this so I’ve never hired an editor before, but do worry that an editor may not like my writing style/voice, or will try to change it too much.
Tonya T Strickland
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Praying.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
No rejections yet! (batting one for one, haha).
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
Still building a platform.
Alexi Venice
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Read, read and read. Authors I love are Paul Levine and Jill Shalvis. Go on long bike rides. Enjoy activities with family and friends. Something is at work inside of you, it just needs time to percolate to the top.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
A loyal and committed readership. Never expected their love and strong opinions about where the plots should go next!
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
Since she’s a big shot in NYC, my ongoing fear is that she’ll consider me a hillbilly who writes work that is beneath her. Plus, I think she goes too light on me. She needs to be tougher!
Heather Walker
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Go for a walk or do something different. I once wrote a spin-off story from the point of view of one of my characters from the story I was struggling with.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far? (No matter how small!)
Having a flash fiction I wrote published in Popshot magazine. It had been a dream of mine to be published in that magazine for years.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
That my writing is not good enough and my subject matter’s too dull.
Elaine White
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
If I wasn’t sure about a scene or a situation, I would literally handwrite the next chapter or scene or jot some thoughts down on paper just to see what clicks. If my character was in a spot that I wasn’t sure about or if something may click, handwrite it. I know it is a longer process, but it works for me.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
The biggest accomplishment I have made is I have officially finished it. It is a steamy clean romance.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
The editing phase is a learning curve for me, but I’m looking forward to seeing my first book in actual print. It has taken me nine months to finish. I hope to have it to the publishers soon.
M.A. Williams
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Just write. Write anything. Write a shopping list, lyrics to a song you used to sing as a child, or the names of your enemies who need to be smited. Smited? Smote? Sorry, I digress…I usually find that getting words onto a page – any words – kickstarts me enough to get me back into what I’m meant to be doing. It’s either that or alcohol, but I find that alcohol increases the desire but takes away the performance, as the great man said.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
Completing the entire first draft of my novel during NaNoWriMo in 2020. I’ve threatened to write a novel since I was about 15 or 16 but never had the self-discipline, so I made myself get up at 4 am every day for that month, writing for two to three hours before waking everyone else up for work/school, doing a full day and then getting another hour or so in before bed at midnight. 106,000-ish words later, I can finally say that I’ve achieved that dream, and my first novel – Beware the Boy – came out in May 2022. And the royalties from the 38 copies sold so far kept me in coffee for a few days, which was a nice bonus…
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
Probably that I’m going to be found out. And yes, obviously, getting up to write with sleep in my eyes means that I make a lot of errors in typing, but I’m talking more about people realising that I haven’t actually got a clue what I’m doing, and that I have no business trying to tell a story because I have nothing to say, or what I have to say is boring.
It’s part of the wider fear when putting anything out into the world – once it’s out there’s no way of controlling how people receive it, or what criticisms might come back. Especially with a first novel – the one that takes far longer than it should because it’s a labour of love, and every correction or question stings like someone calling your firstborn ugly. By the time the second novel (or child) comes around, it just being there is enough.
Phillip Wray
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
I skip forward to another scene or chapter, no matter how late it may be in the book, and start fresh.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
Finishing my first book, The Pontcourt Murders, and seeing it on Amazon.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
The biggest fear is that the editor will say the plot doesn’t work.
Mojtaba Yegani
What are your tips for getting past writer’s block?
Focus on ‘pain points’ in the field that you want to write about. This helps a lot.
What are you most proud of in your writing journey so far?
Starting to create content.
What is your biggest worry when sending your work to an editor?
Trying to turn it into ‘perfect’ content.
How about you?
If you’re a writer, I’d love to hear your answers. Fire away in the comments!
If you’re an editor or proofreader, head over to ‘Editors: in their own words‘ where you’ll find your own set of questions!
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