It’s been a long time coming.

Well, here I am, losing a staring contest with the blank page.

It’s a familiar scene for many writers. You save writing tips and inspiration from your favorite authors in a file you will never open again. You tell yourself you’ll organize your plot (next time), or you’ll set up a schedule for yourself (eventually), or you’ll read more (someday), but you never do. You have an inner debate about whether or not writer’s block is real, but it doesn’t really matter because you’re too busy watching six episodes of your favorite show to write today anyway.

It’s a familiar scene for me. I’ve written four novels in the last four years, and various other short stories, poems, and unfinished big ideas. A few of the smaller things have been published, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

But…sometimes, I get frustrated. I feel so confident in my big old books, the characters I’ve spent countless hours creating, and I’d love to see them in print. I want to be better.

What’s holding me back?

What have my favorite writers done that I haven’t?

If I do all the things they say writers should do, would I create my best book yet?

I wanted to find out.

Thus, the Writing Rules Project.

I’m going to follow all the rules and decide which ones work for me. And I’m going to take you along for the ride.

So, the question is, where do I start?

THE PLAN

Right now, I’ve got a blank canvas. Or a blank file with a blinking cursor. Whatever.

I haven’t sat down to brainstorm. I just finished the first draft of something I started two months ago, so my creative juice is running a little dry.

The plan is to write a 50k-word middle grade novel.

Why middle grade? Some of my favorite books of all time fall into this category of eight- to twelve-year-old readers, and I feel comfortable writing in the genre. Also, I think it will be easier to follow along without the complications expected of many books for older readers.

Why 50k? Fifty thousand words is the maximum length recommended for a middle grade novel. I’m using it as my minimum goal because it will give me room to chop stuff. It’s also the number used by NaNoWriMo as a goal for the annual November novel-writing challenge, which I completed in 2015. An attainable goal, right?

GROUND RULES

To begin, I’m going to set some ground rules for myself, based on the advice of many great writers.

First, I’m going to make it my goal to write every day.

“Write every day” can mean a lot of different things, and I’ll try them all. I’ll set a daily word count for myself, I’ll wake up at the crack of dawn and not leave my room until I’ve written my quota, I’ll find a new writing space and stick to it for a while. I have a feeling that some tactics will work better than others, but of course, I can’t know for sure. That’s why we’re going about this scientifically. Sort of.

Next, I’m going to plan the entire story out before I even start writing. I’m going to make all the files you’re supposed to make—character outlines, chapter summaries, the works. I’m definitely used to writing by the seat of my pants, so this should be…interesting, to say the least.

Finally, I’m going to read. Nearly every author who ever published an interview advised aspiring writers to read. A lot. I’ll check in occasionally to let you know what I’m reading and why, and whether it’s affecting the quality of my writing or if all The Greats are really just Great Nerds.

I’m excited to take you along on this journey and I want to hear from you. What’s a piece of writing advice you’ve heard your whole life but never got around to trying? Let me know in the comments below.