Writing through the Dead Times
I've said before that I don't 'believe' in writer's block, because I believe that unless you are unwell, you can always write something, but I certainly believe in 'dead' writing times. These are times when even staying awake can be an effort, let alone dredging up ideas and half decent sentences. For me, these times are usually between 2 pm and 4 pm. Dead times can come at the end of a book too, although these ones are often due to exhaustion.
The 2 - 4 afternoon slump is pretty well known in a range of jobs, not just in writing, but given how time-strapped most writers are (because they are cribbing time before and after paid employment), the notion of 'wasting' the time they do have can be very stressful.
So, what to do? Most writers have other responsibilities in addition to paid employment, like housework, so quit the desk and go sweep, scrub and wipe. I sometimes do that, but prefer to put these into my 'move my body to stave off death by sitting' breaks. So, when I get a cuppa, I empty the dishwasher, or sweep up, or clean the loo. A series of 10 min breaks knocks off a lot of these jobs. It also takes the pressure off getting that next sentence, paragraph, page down, and so reduces stress.
There is also the much maligned time-waster of social media. If blogging, catching up on relevant blogs, surfing the net, or researching a story idea are on the agenda, do them in the dead times. This refreshes the brain, and is encouraging, especially if you are collecting things for the next project. Even if you look at nothing obviously 'relevant' on social media, serendipitous things can pop up there, or elsewhere away from your desk.
I was slumped in front of the TV last night when a program appeared on the dichotomy, or lack of dichotomy on a cellular level, between males and females. This happens to be relevant to a queued project of mine, so suddenly I am sponging this stuff up like a very dry wettex.
If you want to stay at your desk, and keep off social media, then music can be helpful, as can images. I find both really influential in my writing, in fact, sometimes it produces the whole story. Check out my website: www.ksnikakis.com to see the music that influenced my finished books.
Today, during my dead time, I went onto Youtube and listened to music by Alan Stivell, a Breton folk singer. I was a big fan of his (and of Steeleye Span in the 1970's [showing my age here]) and have his music on vinyl, which isn't useful, as I no longer have a record player.
However, listening to his familiar songs produced the usual grab for scrap paper and mad scribbling. I now have several more parts of the outline for a future project. I also looked at some images on Google, for the same project, which again produced more notes. Even though the project is queued until mid next year, being able to start research for it now, is really exciting and motivating. It's also guilt free, because I'm doing it in my dead time not when I 'should be writing'.
The dead time might only be dead for your current project and actually be very useful for future projects, even ones no more than a shadow in your brain.
So, happy dead writing time.
The 2 - 4 afternoon slump is pretty well known in a range of jobs, not just in writing, but given how time-strapped most writers are (because they are cribbing time before and after paid employment), the notion of 'wasting' the time they do have can be very stressful.
So, what to do? Most writers have other responsibilities in addition to paid employment, like housework, so quit the desk and go sweep, scrub and wipe. I sometimes do that, but prefer to put these into my 'move my body to stave off death by sitting' breaks. So, when I get a cuppa, I empty the dishwasher, or sweep up, or clean the loo. A series of 10 min breaks knocks off a lot of these jobs. It also takes the pressure off getting that next sentence, paragraph, page down, and so reduces stress.
There is also the much maligned time-waster of social media. If blogging, catching up on relevant blogs, surfing the net, or researching a story idea are on the agenda, do them in the dead times. This refreshes the brain, and is encouraging, especially if you are collecting things for the next project. Even if you look at nothing obviously 'relevant' on social media, serendipitous things can pop up there, or elsewhere away from your desk.
I was slumped in front of the TV last night when a program appeared on the dichotomy, or lack of dichotomy on a cellular level, between males and females. This happens to be relevant to a queued project of mine, so suddenly I am sponging this stuff up like a very dry wettex.
If you want to stay at your desk, and keep off social media, then music can be helpful, as can images. I find both really influential in my writing, in fact, sometimes it produces the whole story. Check out my website: www.ksnikakis.com to see the music that influenced my finished books.
Today, during my dead time, I went onto Youtube and listened to music by Alan Stivell, a Breton folk singer. I was a big fan of his (and of Steeleye Span in the 1970's [showing my age here]) and have his music on vinyl, which isn't useful, as I no longer have a record player.
However, listening to his familiar songs produced the usual grab for scrap paper and mad scribbling. I now have several more parts of the outline for a future project. I also looked at some images on Google, for the same project, which again produced more notes. Even though the project is queued until mid next year, being able to start research for it now, is really exciting and motivating. It's also guilt free, because I'm doing it in my dead time not when I 'should be writing'.
The dead time might only be dead for your current project and actually be very useful for future projects, even ones no more than a shadow in your brain.
So, happy dead writing time.
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