When I first started this challenge, I thought it would be easy. The thought of writing a whole book? Terrifying. But fifteen to thirty minutes of free writing before starting? No problem!
I was wrong.
Starting Out
The first day was awkward, but not terrible. I wasn’t as intimidated by the blank page as I was when working on my book. I didn’t know where to begin, so I looked around the room, saw my dog, wrote, “I love my dog,” and kept going. The story turned into a tale about a girl whose dog ran away, and by the end of my 30-minute session, I almost had a complete short story. That day, I thought I’d made a breakthrough in my writing slump!
But when I switched from free writing to working on my book, I felt like I’d lost all my momentum. I didn’t know how to continue. Sure, I’d conquered the blank page with “I love my dog,” but that wasn’t exactly a profound breakthrough for my book progress.
I started doubting everything about my book. Since writing a short story about things around me was easier, did this mean fantasy wasn’t the right genre for me? Had I chosen the wrong topic for my book?
I flip-flopped between loving and hating free writing before my main writing sessions. Some days, it felt great; other times, it wasn’t helping me at all. Near the end of the week, I sat down and couldn’t even start. I felt stifled, overwhelmed by the blank page. The short stories, which were supposed to spark my creativity, were draining me and leaving me with more doubt.
Still, I wasn’t ready to give up on free writing entirely. It got me to write daily, even if it wasn’t for my book or in my preferred genre. So, I decided to switch things up.
Switching Tactics
First, I tried sticking to fantasy, since my book was in the fantasy genre. I used story dice for inspiration, hoping to spark ideas with a noun, verb, and adjective. I loved story dice as a kid, so I thought they might revitalize me.
This method was different but similar in its outcome. I shortened my writing sessions to 5 or 10 minutes, hoping that starting in my genre would help me transition to my book. And while the story dice led to fun new tales, switching back to my book still felt like hitting a brick wall.
At this point, I started spiraling, questioning my ability to write a book. Who could write short snippets effortlessly but struggle with the thing they were most passionate about? I tried again the next day with the same result—it wasn’t working.
Switching Tactics (Again)
On the last day of my challenge, I took a final leap and decided to free-write a journal entry. Free writing didn’t have to be fiction, after all. I’d assumed writing short stories would be the most helpful, but by then, I was so frustrated with stories that I couldn’t even bring myself to write another one.
Journaling felt familiar, and that made all the difference. I poured out my frustration with free writing—the short stories that were supposed to inspire me but hadn’t. I wrote until I hit on the real problem: doubt and insecurity. After finishing that last journal entry, I put free writing aside, convinced it wasn’t for me. But life has a funny way of changing things.
Looking Within Through Journaling
A few months later, I decided to try free writing again. But I didn’t forget the previous failures, so I focused on journaling this time. I figured that if I could identify what was happening in my life and in my writing, I might get past my block. So, I journaled the day away—about trivial things and deeper feelings—and then it hit me: maybe forcing myself to write short stories and prompts had been draining my creativity instead of igniting it. Maybe I needed to find something that was more me.
I reflected that I don’t handle transitions well in daily life. I get ready for things very early, but I’m often late because I struggle to shift gears. Transitions can make me irritable or anxious, which can make the task I am transitioning to more challenging than it needs to be. And then a lightbulb went off: maybe writing was no different. I will always say that journaling is valuable because journaling helped me recognize the core issue: switching between free writing and my book was too jarring.
Fine-Tuning My Craft
The next day, I tried something new. Instead of writing fiction or journaling, I free-wrote about my book. I didn’t worry about the plot or the details. I didn’t write from anyone’s point of view. I wrote a watered-down reflection of what I wanted to happen. The writing was terrible—most of it was cut in edits—but it got me into the mindset of my book. For the first time in a while, I felt like I was working through my writer’s block.
Writing about my book without caring about point of view, whether people understood my magic system, or whether person A was actually in scene III freed me up to explore new options and rehash old scenes. It was messy, but it worked—and I started enjoying the process again.
In doing the week-long free writing challenge (and beyond), I learned how free writing could be a useful tool for me. As someone who hates transitions, jumping from one story to another never worked. But free writing about my book—even in an incoherent way—finally helped me break through.
Adding Free Writing to the Writer’s Toolkit
Free writing is an incredibly useful tool, but everyone needs to take the time to find what works for them. For me, writing new stories felt like procrastination, making it harder to focus on my book. Journaling helped me figure out what I needed to do, but even that wasn’t the final answer. But writing about my book in a chaotic, rambling way—that’s where I found my freedom.
Even after that realization, though, I don’t always choose to free-write about my book. As you can see from my website, I post flash fiction and short stories regularly. Because the truth is that I also struggle with getting bored when I am only writing one story at a time.
The B.R. Quinn Method
How do I balance my varied writing interests if I hate transitions? Well, I write at a pace that works for me. Since transitions burn me out, I don’t write and post at the same time I show my viewers. Especially since I have a day job, I can’t always count on having time to write a post every single day. I write a bulk of posts on the same topic, but then I schedule the stories weeks in advance. For example, I wrote a lot of “Cuddle Puppy” scenes over a few days, which actually led me to realize I could post some of them as bonus stories for my Patrons on Patreon (because as it turns out, I actually can write short stories about cute puppies pretty quickly).
The same goes for my other short stories and the rest of My Year Quest. I space out my writing to avoid burnout, but I also transition from one story to the next over a few days to keep me from getting bored. The key is that I write in a way that works for me.
As for my book—writing about it still keeps me inspired, but I also have come to really love writing and learning as I complete My Year Quest. I’ve learned so much about writing and look forward to sharing more insights with you in the coming weeks. For this week, just know that free writing has helped me try new styles and perspectives I wouldn’t have explored if I’d only focused on finishing my book, so trying to challenge yourself may give you a new perspective as well.
Why the My Year Quest Challenge?
Some might wonder why I take on so many different projects in My Year Quest. I could certainly write only a few stories and still keep my interest piqued. The answer is simple: I want to experience as much as possible as I journey to learn more about myself as a writer. I’d miss out on so much creativity if I only worked on one or two books at a time. And as most non-famous writers know, life makes it hard to progress and keep momentum on just one project.
Through these smaller projects, I believe I’m becoming a stronger writer. And I’m grateful for the free writing challenge, even though it took me a while to figure out what worked for me. So, if you try the challenge, make sure to pay attention to what helps you and what doesn’t.
Listen to yourself and grow as a writer based on what you learn.
Happy writing!
B.R. Quinn
B.R. Quinn 