In a post on Writer Unboxed, Kathleen McCleary says we should challenge ourselves to work past fears in our writing.
For McCleary, that means writing about subjects or characters she hasn’t tried before. “It’s simultaneously terrifying and thrilling,” she says. “Even if my forays into new writing territory never go farther than my laptop (I haven’t shown them to anyone yet), it’s been a great exercise for me, my imagination, and my writing. It’s worth trying.”
She suggests that we try:
- Writing about a subject that scares you. Make a list of things that scare you and consider handing one to a character in your WIP or in a new story. “Don’t pick something that’s potentially traumatic for you; choose something you can really imagine fully without losing your self or your mind,” McCleary advises.
- Writing a character unlike any other you’ve ever written. Do you normally write about suburban parents? Mafia hitmen? Try creating a character different from those types. “It doesn’t have to be dark,” McCleary notes. “If you typically write emotionally complex characters who do a lot of moral agonizing, write someone without a conscience, who sees the world in mostly black and white.”
- Writing a different genre. “I know several writers who have rediscovered their passion for writing fiction when they made the leap into a different genre (and several who hit bestseller lists for the first time after making that leap, too),” McCleary writes.
