Plot Walks Around the Block

 

Recently I attended a webinar hosted by Lorin Oberweger andFree Expressions that featured Liz Fenwick (Secret Shore. HarperCollins, 2023). The webinar was part of aseries that focused on writer-oriented discussions. A book club, if you will, inwhich writers take a deep dive into literary crafts elements of a specificbook, and the author of that book discussed her process. Liz Frank introduced anew term, at least for me, in her strategy for dealing with writer’s block.

Plot walks.

Everyone writer understands the dilemma of writer’s block.  K.M. Weiland, a speculative writer who also offersexcellent webinars and writes craft books that take very deep dives in thestory engineering process, offers that:

“To be a writer, one must do two things: write and, perhapssurprisingly, not write. Usually we champion the first and demonize the secondwith much fear and trembling, giving it dread labels such as ‘writer’s block.'”

While there are many reasons that can lead to writer’s block,there are two types of block: Life block, in which personal challenges needattending; and plot block, in which the story’s logic has gone amuck. Eitherway, one of the first steps required for sanity’s sake is to step away from thestory. As Weiland suggests, creativity “is your partner, not your servant.” Creativityis not something that can be commanded or demanded. And the return tocreativity tends to happen on its own schedule, not yours.

Which takes us back to plot walks.

Beyond the obvious health benefits, talking a walk – likemeditation –improves your mood, reduces anxiety and encourages creativethinking. Studies show that when the walking allows the mind to relax, it opensup a free flow of ideas. When you concentrate on your plot, like chanting amantra, a-ha moments happen!  It’s a meditation of sorts that gives perspective. And perspective is everything, especially as it relates to discovering how to fix the plot’s logic. How characters solve problems. How to find and fight the monsters. 

Plot walks. It’s a good thing!  

Helping Writers Become Writers Series, Book 7 (2014. 

Thank you for reading!! 

--Bobbi Miller