20 Expert-Tested Writing Strategies in 2019 That You Have to Try

20 Expert-Tested Writing Strategies in 2019 That You Have to Try 20+ Writing Strategies (That Helped Bestselling Authors Finish Their Books) So you've decided today that you want to write. Great!Now how exactly are you going to do it?Luckily, we have a precedent to which to turn. From idea generation to the art of editing, there are thousands writing strategies out there to get you past the finish line - and we gathered the best ones in this post.   Here are 20+ writing strategies that you can use to help you over the finish line.18. Maya Angelou’s â€Å"Write Anything† ModeSeriously, anything. You can take Maya Angelou’s award-winning words for it:â€Å"What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks, ‘The cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’†Ã¢â‚¬Å"The cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,† doesn’t exactly sound very gla morous, does it? But Maya Angelou also wrote I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1971, so she knows a thing or two about writing.19. George Plimpton’s Letter StrategyIf the the thought of an agent or thousands of people reading your story makes you sweat, you might have the literary version of "stage fright." To help curb this type of writer's block, the Paris Review founder George Plimpton used to follow this strategy:â€Å"Many years ago, I met John Steinbeck at a party in Sag Harbor, and told him that I had writer’s block. And he said something which I’ve always remembered, and which works. He said, â€Å"Pretend that you’re writing not to your editor or to an audience or to a readership, but to someone close, like your sister, or your mother, or someone that you like.† And at the time I was enamored of Jean Seberg, the actress, and I had to write an article about taking Marianne Moore to a baseball game, a nd I started it off, â€Å"Dear Jean . . . ,† and wrote this piece with some ease, I must say. And to my astonishment that’s the way it appeared in Harper’s Magazine. â€Å"Dear Jean . . .† Which surprised her, I think, and me, and very likely Marianne Moore.†We’ll let Steinbeck, the person who first came up with this ingenious writing strategy, explain the reasoning behind it: â€Å"Write it as a letter aimed at one person. This removes the vague terror of addressing the large and faceless audience and it also, you will find, will give a sense of freedom and a lack of self-consciousness.†Plimpton wasn’t kidding, by the way: you can read his October 1964 article in Harper’s Magazine here.20. Hilary Mantel’s â€Å"Do Anything† TechniqueWhat if you’re just sick of words altogether? For a change of pace, let’s try something that doesn’t involve writing - in any capacity. Hilary Mantel says that sometimes what you need to do in order to write is not write:â€Å"If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to  ­music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don’t just stick there scowling at the problem. But don’t make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people’s words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.†Force yourself to disengage from your manuscript and you might come back sharper and more aware of what you want to say. Jane Smiley, for instance, would drink Diet Cokes to distract herself, explaining: â€Å"When you sit down again on Saturday, you’re better. Not only because of all the practice, but also because of the walking away. I’m a firm believer in walking away.†21. P.G. Wodehouse’s Cursing ApproachIf you’ve come this far and all else has failed, know that you can always resort to P.G. Wodehouse’s tried, true, and completely professional advice:â€Å"I just sit at my typewriter and curse a bit.†Do you have any more writing strategies to share? How about writer's block memes? Have you found any strategy useful so far? Tell us in the comments below!