Ask the Author: E.B. Barrett
Answered Questions (5)
E.B. Barrett
I no longer devote the time I once did to sitting still for the Muse, those few years when I wrote twice daily, and the pages flowed easily and profusely. Now, the Muse uses krav maga moves to get my attention; stories knock me down during intense project meetings, when I'm caregiving, or when I'm driving. I do my best to hold onto them until I can render them on the digital page. Sometimes I know the trigger--a furtive glance between people trying to deflect attention from their attraction to one another, or a piece of visual art--but often the idea arrives fairly whole when I'm focused on something else and I don't know the trigger. I do know that I'm happier and healthier when I write, and that I need to go back to making time for that process.
E.B. Barrett
At the moment, I have several projects going, and I alternate among them: a redraft of a novel, two work-in-progress pieces of fanfiction, and a sci-fi erotic short story that might become another novella.
E.B. Barrett
Write what inspires you, whether it's familiar or not. Let the first draft flow--you are writing that for yourself, not an audience. Don't judge it, don't analyze it. Set aside that draft and outline the story. Then, rewrite with your outline as a guide. That second full draft is the one to consider having others read for feedback. The third draft could be a polish or it might need a full rewrite. Don't become discouraged. In between editing, you could be writing the next piece.
E.B. Barrett
I rarely suffer from writer's block. When it occurs, I often find that something else is blocked: I'm stressed or my self-censoring internal critic is active or I have been too sedentary. Dance and yoga help.
For periods of time, particular characters I'm working on will go quiet, and I find it important to turn to other stories or the art of others, often music or visual art, to help restore the flow. I return periodically to the "stuck" piece until it isn't stuck any longer. Sometimes, I realize that I haven't been letting a character go where he or she wants to because I'm imposing my superego, and I have to get out of the way. I can always decide not to publish something later.
I never consistently followed The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, but I did find two tools from her course that help immensely: the artist date (taking yourself on an artist date) and the morning pages (writing a set number of pages of stream of consciousness without censorship or rereading first thing in the morning) that clear the decks for the creative mind.
Often times, rather than being blocked, I find that characters and stories show up when I'm not prepared to process them: in the middle of a conversation, riding on the train standing up, driving, or sleeping. If I can't jot some notes, I try to mentally gather the thread and save it for when I can deal with the information.
For periods of time, particular characters I'm working on will go quiet, and I find it important to turn to other stories or the art of others, often music or visual art, to help restore the flow. I return periodically to the "stuck" piece until it isn't stuck any longer. Sometimes, I realize that I haven't been letting a character go where he or she wants to because I'm imposing my superego, and I have to get out of the way. I can always decide not to publish something later.
I never consistently followed The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, but I did find two tools from her course that help immensely: the artist date (taking yourself on an artist date) and the morning pages (writing a set number of pages of stream of consciousness without censorship or rereading first thing in the morning) that clear the decks for the creative mind.
Often times, rather than being blocked, I find that characters and stories show up when I'm not prepared to process them: in the middle of a conversation, riding on the train standing up, driving, or sleeping. If I can't jot some notes, I try to mentally gather the thread and save it for when I can deal with the information.
E.B. Barrett
Selfishly, I love the process of being in the 'zone' where the work seems to come through me rather than from me. Ideas occur to me that have little to do with my personal experience. I know that scientists are understanding The Muse as state in which the left and right brain hemispheres synchronize, similar to meditation. But it's easy to see why the state of deep inspiration has been celebrated as a spiritual and religious phenomenon.
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