50 Writing Questions

to Consider
by Jack Heffron, author of Writers Idea Book

Ponder these writing questions if you find yourself stuck on a project

or are stuggling with some aspect of your writing life. You may just find
the inspiration you need to get yourself back on track:

1. Do you have an idea youve been noodling in your mind for a while?
What aspect of the idea keeps it so alive?
2. Are you holding yourself back from developing an idea into a draft
by doubting its worth or your own abilities as a writer?
3. Are you continuing to work on a project out of fear of letting it go?
Why are you afraid?
4. Do you fritter away some of your writing time by thinking about the
fate of a current project, such as whether or not it will be published?
5. Do you find yourself talking about ideas before putting anything on
paper, only to find you have talked away your interest in, and energy
for, the project itself?
6. Do you sense creative powers inside you that you cant seem to
reach? How might you reach them?

7. Do you write mostly about personal experience, about public issues

and events, or about invented characters and situations? If you dont
write much at all, which of the three draws you most?
8. Which of the above is closest to the type of writing you like to read?
Does this match what you like to write?
9. What are the best writing ideas youve ever had? Is there a connection between them? Have any been forgotten, been only partially developed or remained dormant? Is it time to pursue them?
10. How do you usually respond to other peoples ideas? Do you show
enthusiasm and offer encouragement, or do you more often find fault?
Are you threatened by the ideas, feeling that you should have thought of
that first or wondering why other people have better ideas than you do?
11. As you work along in one project, is another one begging for your
attention? Ask yourself if this other project is a means of avoiding a full
commitment to the one at hand. Ask yourself, too, if the project causing
the distraction might be part of the ongoing one or might provide some
clue as to the true nature of the one in progress.
12. If youre squirming to get out of your chair while writing, whats causing you to feel this way? Is it simply the desire to do something else,
or are you facing a difficult scene or passage that at some level youre
trying to avoid?
13. In what other parts of your life have you shown persistence and
tenacity? Can you find a way to bring those qualities to your struggle
with the ongoing piece?
14. If youre feeling that your work in progress needs new ideas, whats
holding you back?
15. Are you limiting the scope of your piece on purposeeither to avoid
the challenge of a more complicated piece or because you need to feel in
control of it? What might happen if you relinquished control for a while?



50 Writing Questions to Consider

16. Are the pieces youve declared finished really as good as you can
make them? Of course, we need to let go of a piece sometimes, to move
on, but review the work youve sent out in hopes of getting published. Is
it your best work? Have you given yourself enough time with it?
17. Are you feeling blocked on your work in progress? Are you blocking
yourself by refusing to move beyond your original idea for the piece?
18. Where does the piece seem to be working best? Where is it most
genuine? Do these sections grow out of the original idea or do they hint
of better ideas, ones that move beyond the original idea?
19. Is one aspect of the piece trying to dominate it? Is it possible that
the original idea needs to be discarded or perhaps refocused to allow
this aspect to surface or develop in the foreground?
20. Is it time to look at your original idea with new eyes?
21. What have you read in the past year that impressed you or moved
you? What did the writer do to make you think or feel that way?
22. What writers are your favorites? What is it about their work that you
particularly enjoy? Are there writers who were favorites at earlier times in
your life that no longer appeal to you? Why have they lost their appeal?
23. Can you hear comments on your work objectively? If not, why not?
How can you make yourself less sensitive and, thereby, more objective?
24. What patterns exist in the comments youve received about your
work? What can they teach you about yourself as a writer? How can
they help you more effectively assess your ideas?
25. Before assessing the work in progress, have you created enough
distance to see it clearly, or at least as clearly as possible? Do you tend
to reject your ideas too quickly? Do you stick with them for too long?
26. As you assess and evaluate your ideas, are you listening to whats
on the page, rather than trying too hard to control the piece?

50 Writing Questions to Consider

27. Do you clutter your mind with concerns about how this draft reflects
on youIm a genius! Im a loser!rather than focusing on the piece
itself? How can you use your awareness of this tendency to keep it
from distracting you from the more authentic needs of your writing
projects?
28. Are you still interested in the idea? Does it continue to reveal itself, if
only in elusive bursts of inspiration, or has it become a matter of habit
to continue?
29. Is the idea evolving or is it simply becoming a different idea in a
succession of different ideas? Have you lost the thread of the initial
impulse to develop the idea?
30. What would happen if you abandoned the idea, at least for a
while? Can you begin a new project or does the current one still consume you?
31. What are your motives for developing this idea? Are they focused on
the idea itself or are they more linked to impressing readers, advancing
your career, capitalizing on a trend, landing a contract, unburdening
yourself of difficult emotions, making yourself look smart, profound, or
worthy of sympathy?
32. If the piece isnt working, what elements can you simply not cut?
Which ones form the heart of the piece?
33. Are you able and willing to let go of the draft in progress, to salvage
whats working and begin again? If so, do you feel a renewed sense
of interest? If not, why are you hanging on? Is it the daunting task of
beginning again? How might you get past that feeling?
34. Have you taken time to listen to the piece, to allow it to strike its own
course? Have you read it aloud to yourself?
35. Is the piece really not working or are your expectations for it unrealistic? Are you failing to achieve your goals for the piece, and if so, do
those goals need to be evaluated and revised?



50 Writing Questions to Consider

36. If youre blocked on a piece, have you considered switching forms?

What new ideas and directions might spring from trying a different
form? Are these possibilities worth considering?
37. Why are you writing about these characters? Are their stories important to you? How deeply are you invested in telling their stories?
38. Have you allowed your characters to evolve as you develop their
stories? Have you kept your mind open to new possibilities with your
characters?
39. As your characters continue to reveal themselves to you, do they
spark new ideas for the project, new directions and new possibilities?
40. Are considerations such as plot and theme confining your characters? If so, how can you give them a greater sense of depth and freedom? What effect will this have on the project?
41. Are you satisfied with the structure of your current piece of writing?
If so, what elements do you like? If not, what one move could you make
that gives the structure more interest?
42. Do you tend to use similar structures in your pieces? If so, try a
slightly different approach sometime soon. Allow yourself to explore
new possibilities.
43. Do you usually get ideas for pieces by thinking about plota series
of eventsor by developing a character? Theres no right or wrong
answer, but give the question some thought.
44. How does the effective use of details make your work stronger?
How could you focus on details to enliven an ongoing piece?
45. How do writers whom you particularly admire use details to make
their work rich and compelling?
46. Do you usually use the same point of view in your work, tending to
favor first person or third person or whatever? Why? Is it time to try new
approaches?

50 Writing Questions to Consider

47. In an ongoing piece, are you using the most appropriate and effective point of view? How would the piece change if you switched point
of view?
48. Have you ever written from the point of view of a character or reallife person far different from yourself? If not, why not give it a try? If so,
what were the challenges involved?
49. What themes permeate the writing youve done in the past? How
have you explored these themes? Were you conscious of them as you
wrote?
50. Are there themes youve tried to avoid in your writing, ones that are
too close to you emotionally? Are you ready to tackle them yet?

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50 Writing Questions to Consider