I recently spent six months teaching revision strategies (and strategies for emotionally navigating the revision process) to creative writers across genres through the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. One of the resources I drew on and recommended to writers most often during those months was fellow Minneapolis writing teacher Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew’s book Living Revision: A Writer’s Craft as Spiritual Practice.

In Tips for Getting Back to Writing After Time Away, I shared strategies for returning to our writing practices when there’s been some kind of break or lull. But what if you want or need to get back, not just to writing in general, but to a particular project that’s ended up on hold? (That novel you’d drafted two-thirds of, the short story you’d just finished outlining before something bad happened, the project you received edits on but haven’t actually revised yet…) What if you just can’t find your motivation or momentum again?
 
Well, first of all, check out the suggestions in that more general post. Be gentle with and kind to yourself. Find ways back to creative fun. Seek out support and community.
 
You’ll also want to start guiding yourself back to the energy of the specific project that has been set aside. Here are a variety of concrete approaches you can try, starting with whatever resonates with you right now:

If you send your work to me or another editor, you’ll probably end up dancing with Microsoft Word’s Track Changes and Comments features—or their equivalents in some other word processor. Even if you just ask friends or classmates to read your draft, chances are high you’ll eventually run into this particular mode of giving and receiving feedback.
 
I’m sure everybody can muddle through! But you’ll be happier and less overwhelmed armed with some strategies for processing this kind of input. (You might even end up with a better, more polished manuscript.) And that’s what this post is for.