#WordWeavers 2025.05.29 — Have you ever doubted you’d finish a draft? If so, what kept you going?

(By "finish a draft," I'm going to assume this means "first draft" or "composing the story." Revision is free time without completion anxiety.)

Plenty of times. Assuming that I think the story is worth completing or isn't damaged plot wise, all of which are non-starters that lead to abandonment, it's a matter of writing it.

(By "what kept you going," I'm going to assume this means: How did I eventually complete composing that first draft?)

When composing a story, especially being a pantser like me, it's best to realize that the subconscious plays a role in writing at least as great as the conscious. Things that I do, therefore vary.

• Reading aloud what I've written, feeling the rhythm of the story and gauging emotional fire of the characters; and when I find it, using that stream to carry myself downriver into composition.
• Waiting for when I feel I have more story to contribute, allowing my subconscious to work.
• Asking myself if anything written thus far reduces the flexibility of the plot to where it is too hard to compose freely. A yes to this means some hack and slash is necessary.
• Writing something else for a while, trusting I'll come back to it.
• Examining my psychology for fear and anxiety.

The last point has been a big deal for me, writing some stories that are by design rather racy. The internal (eternal) censor, which is actually an external censor programmed into me by role models and societal brainwashing, has been awful to me these last months, trying to make me cry at every juncture. To combat that, I've written the following mantra—which can be found in my Introduction post, pinned to my profile.

And something that works for me: Are you blocked by your internal censor? Do you worry you're revealing your embarrassing true self? Say what I say to myself:

I am not telepathic.

Repeat that: I am not telepathic.

Louder: I AM NOT TELEPATHIC!

I DON'T know what the reader is going to expect.

I DON'T know if the current scene is going to frighten, trigger, or be too explicit for my audience...

Because I DON'T have anyone looking over my shoulder, clicking their tongue, and saying, "Tch, tch, tch!"

I am going to take a deeeeeeep breath, now,
clear my mind,
and write the flapping scene—
full stop.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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