As an author, telling a story can be difficult. You want to make sure that each character’s own personal tale develops cohesively, and the plot is rich with twists and turns that will keep your reader hooked on your story.

Though writing can be difficult, there are ways to ease the process and make telling your story easier.

Today, we’re going to share a writing technique that can help you keep your foot on the gas and get closer and closer to your book-writing goal.

The technique we’re talking about is the “cold eye” review of your work. A “cold eye” review offers you, the author, a fresh look at your writing.

Here’s how it works:

Let’s say you’ve set a writing goal for yourself. This could be a word count or even an allotted amount time that you plan to spend writing. Whatever the goal is that you’ve chosen, in this time you’ll work to develop your characters and the plot as well as tell your story in a way that’ll grab and keep your reader’s attention.

Once you’ve reached your goal, it’s time to remove yourself from your writing. Go out and grab a cup of coffee, take a walk in your local park, go for a run, or simply relax and let your mind be at ease. Essentially, in this step of the process, you’ll want to do something that you like and that takes your mind off of what you’ve just written.

Once you’ve cleared your mind, you can take a fresh look at your work. As you’re reading what you’ve previously written, you’ll be able to review your work with a clear focus, a fresh mind and the ability to see your work in another light.

This cold eye review of your work gives you the opportunity to act as an editor of your story. After taking a step back from your writing, you’ll see what you’ve written through another lens. Through this fresh set of eyes, you’ll be able to trim the fat of your novel, add details that you might not have thought about before and make your story come together more clearly.

Though storytelling can be difficult, there are myriad ways to make writing a little bit easier. The cold eye review of your work can help you move closer and closer to reaching your goal of being a published author.