Baby Steps
Writing an epic story is like climbing a mountain. The approach is intimidating, and reaching the summit seems impossible. But anyone who’s climbed a mountain will tell you that though the ascent isn’t completed in one step, it starts with one.
The proverbial journey of a thousand miles begins with the one step. But it doesn’t end there.
The prospect of beginning may terrify us, but what we need—and must—do is begin.
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin...” Zechariah 4:10
When you’re starting out as a spec-fic writer, don’t despise the small beginnings. I don’t mean shelve your four-book faerie trilogy or your open-ended space opera, but do give yourself some space for encouragement and success along the way. When I taught children with special needs, I’d divide the large goals into smaller tasks, so we could acknowledge and celebrate each incremental gain.
Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes we need a little Couch-to-5K training.
In What About Bob? Psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin hands Bob, a highly dependent, obsessive-compulsive patient his brand-new book called Baby Steps. He explains:
Marvin: It means setting small, reasonable goals for yourself. One day at a time, one tiny step at a time--doable, accomplishable goals.
Bob: Baby steps.
Marvin: When you leave this office, don’t think about everything you have to do to get out of the building, just deal with getting out of the room. When you reach the hall, just deal with the hall. And so forth. Baby steps.
Here are some baby steps that can take you farther than you’d imagine.
Study the craft of writing. Take advantage of writers who are willing to share their experience. Firsts in Fiction has a YouTube Channel dedicated to educating writers and the 540 FB Community hosts weekly zoom sessions with industry professionals. Even reading this column counts as a baby step.
Write Ugly–Don’t let perfection paralyze you. My previous A3 post challenges writers to get the words out before focusing on the polish.
Read and write flash-fiction—stories no more than 1000 words. The feeling of accomplishment and accompanying hit of dopamine when you finish that short story will boost your confidence. Havok Publishing is an excellent place to read and submit science fiction and fantasy shorts. They have new themes every month and provide feedback on all submissions.
Participate in writing sprints and write-ins. These short spurts of concentrated writing time train you to set everything else aside and focus, and a little bit of accountability never hurts. The 540 FB Community also holds regular write-in sessions on zoom.
Cassandra Hamm hosts Prompted, delightful microfiction (50 to 300-word stories) contests, on Instagram, and there are challenges on a variety of social media platforms. Follow #writingchallenge and you’ll discover a plethora of opportunities to write.
Not up to writing a complete story, long or short? Write a scene. Story Dice are a fun way to introduce random mayhem to your characters. They’re easy to find in your app store.
Step into the boots, tentacles, or wings of your characters and have them write to someone important in their life, describing their spaceship, forest grove, or tower/dungeon confinement.
Create a travel brochure for your favorite out-of-this-world getaway.
Writing short stories hones your skills and gets something out there for people to read and respond to. It’s a true accomplishment. Once your words are out there, you’ve been published! You don’t need to know how to do everything to get started… or keep going.
You just need to do the next thing.
The next easy thing.
The next scary thing.
The next hard thing.
The. Next. Thing.
Baby Stepping was first published by Almost An Author on May 7, 2022