Ten ways to nip writer's block
Personally, I don't believe in writer's block. A giant man-made dam inside your head stopping your story from flowing? Nah. It's nothing more than a beaver's den done half-assed.
The thing about "writer's block" is that you are never actually stuck. You CAN write. Will you write exactly what your story needs? Probably not. Will you figure it out as you go along? Maybe... who knows? Perhaps you'll just write a load of crap that makes no sense and goes nowhere. The point is, YOU CAN WRITE!
I've heard the stories - as I'm sure you all have - "It's been four years since I've written. I just can't get past the writer's block." Bullshit. If you haven't written in four years than you are one of the following: (a) Depressed: seek help of a psychologist (c) Graphophobic: You have the fear of writing - again, seek help of a psychologist (b) Not a real writer: Get another career. But for those of you who sit down at your desk everyday, trying to get past a tough scene and can't do it. This is for you.
1) Do some exercises
No, I don't mean push-ups and sit-ups - running in place? I'm more of a sitting-in-place kinda gal. I mean writing exercises. I remember all of the creative writing courses I took as a teen and in later years, and they were awesome! Even if I didn't feel like writing that day, I went in and found that by the time I left I wanted to write an entire novel. Getting yourself to sit down and write for fun helps you get the creative juices flowing and puts pressure off the task at hand. Some of my favorite exercises is: Write a poem using ten mathematical, scientific, or medicinal terms.
2) Become a photographer for a day
Don't worry, no classes required! I don't know why, but it seems a great deal of creative inspiration in writing comes from photos. So, go make some! Go and photograph anything and everything that makes you smile or captures your attention. How does this help? You get a day off and some time to relax, while simultaneously gathering tools for instant inspiration. No camera? Than take a walk and get some mental photos.
3) Get into character
Huh? Act out those tough scenes. If you don't have time to take a day off and you are really pushing for that deadline, then you better get into character. Actors and actresses have this down to perfection, time you start learning. By becoming your character and acting out the scenes, you have many advantages. (a) You can see how realistic or unrealistic your work is. (b) You can get a better grasp at the emotions in play and think like the character you have worked so hard to shape and form. (c) You get to shake off the stress of being hunched over a desk pushing out words and have some fun.
4) Skipping
You can't skip? Too manly to even attempt to do so? No worries, I'm talking about the scene. Skip it. What writing law says you have to writing from beginning to end? In fact, let's write from end to beginning. That's the part we really want to write anyway, right? Or, just go to the next scene, and fill in the blanks later. take a deep breath and try not to become OCD over this. I know how awkward it can feel writing things out of place. But, hey if actors and actresses can act out scenes at random, you can write them.
5) Leap Frog
More child's play? No, more skipping in fact. You are going to skip the whole damn book. That's right. If you can't get past that scene where Jessica needs to escape, but the cell is 5 layers of concrete and 1000 feet underground, with demon hounds guarding the grounds and cell, then forget it. You need to just pick up something else. This helps if you can't NOT be writing. If you have another WIP (work in progress), then put down your current manuscript and pick up the other one. It will give you a break away from the piece and give YOU peace. This worked very well with my current novel that I am editing - JUST FOR KICKS.
6) Donate
To Goodwill? Nope - your neighbor. Or sister, brother, uncle? Whoever! Take your manuscript and give it away. Let someone else write it. Think I'm joking? I'm dead serious. Ask someone close to you to write out the scene. It's true, not everyone is a writer, but everyone has an imagination. There have been countless times that I have sought out the help of my friends and family and walked away with new ideas. Even my five year old is a genius! He developed my MC's super power in JUST FOR KICKS.
Did you ever play that game in school, where you write a sentence, then pass it on to your desk neighbor and so on and so forth - then when everyone has contributed you read it out loud? Same concept. It may sound funny and outrageous, but it took a WAY different path than what you had planned, yes? There you go. Great minds may thing alike, but the best ones are those that are different.
7) Rewrite
Yep, no misunderstanding on this one. Rewrite it. All of it. take that scene, chapter, whatever, and throw it out the window. And REWRITE IT. If it seems gridlocked and there is no way you are getting through, then you need to just start over. If Jessica got into the cell by being caught, then make it so she doesn't get caught. Instead, she kicks everyone's ass and carries on to find Jerry and kill him for eating her ice cream.
Doing a rewrite is probably the best solution in most cases. You can even do multiple rewrites and pick which one you like better. This is a solution Amanda Hocking uses when she gets stuck. (I just recently discovered this when I attended her book signing in Portland on the 22nd).
8) Unplug and reboot
No, your laptop is NOT the problem. But, then internet may be. And you most definitely ARE. Distractions can some times make you FEEL like you are suffering from writer's block. You sit there and tweet, pin, look at your pig sty of a house, the dishes are piling up, you haven't showered in three days, you tweet again, you pin some more recipes and DIY projects you'll never actually try.
So, eliminate the distractions. Take a day and clean your house, take a hot shower, and wash the windows, then unplug the internet and write. You will find that without so many to-dos on your mind you can DO the writing. Take a trip to the library even. When you have no reason to stop and procrastinate, than you can get down to business.
9) Kickin' it old school
Put your hightops and legwarmers back in the closet. Really, you pulled out the record player? I meant for writing! Jeesh. Is the computer too tempting to just hit the browsers icon and is the little cursor just blinking at you but your mind is blank? Then get off the computer. Pull out a pen and pad and write. Or, drag out that dusty old typewriter and put a new ribbon in it. This ties in with the distractions. Computer are the most distarcting thing for a writer, and yet we NEED them!
I write long hand. Yes, it does cramp my hand when I really get going. Yes, I can't read my own writing from time to time, and YES it is a bit harder. But, it works. I use legal pads and paper clips to section off chapters, and I have page style post-its for notes. My finished first draft of JUST FOR KICKS is seven legal pads in a file folder in my file box. But, I love it. I feel more like a real writer when I'm writing, not typing. Then, I type it all up and make edits when I do so. Giving me a clean second draft on my laptop.
10) Just freaking write already!
Last, but not least. Just put your bum in the chair and write. You can't ever make progress if you don't at least try. sometimes, the best solution is to just push through it all. I have an embroidered...thing, my grandma made me that hangs over my desk with a quote from Fredrick Douglas on it. It says: "Without struggle, there is no progress." So, if you aren't sweating through it, then you aren't going to go anywhere.
The thing about "writer's block" is that you are never actually stuck. You CAN write. Will you write exactly what your story needs? Probably not. Will you figure it out as you go along? Maybe... who knows? Perhaps you'll just write a load of crap that makes no sense and goes nowhere. The point is, YOU CAN WRITE!
I've heard the stories - as I'm sure you all have - "It's been four years since I've written. I just can't get past the writer's block." Bullshit. If you haven't written in four years than you are one of the following: (a) Depressed: seek help of a psychologist (c) Graphophobic: You have the fear of writing - again, seek help of a psychologist (b) Not a real writer: Get another career. But for those of you who sit down at your desk everyday, trying to get past a tough scene and can't do it. This is for you.
1) Do some exercises
No, I don't mean push-ups and sit-ups - running in place? I'm more of a sitting-in-place kinda gal. I mean writing exercises. I remember all of the creative writing courses I took as a teen and in later years, and they were awesome! Even if I didn't feel like writing that day, I went in and found that by the time I left I wanted to write an entire novel. Getting yourself to sit down and write for fun helps you get the creative juices flowing and puts pressure off the task at hand. Some of my favorite exercises is: Write a poem using ten mathematical, scientific, or medicinal terms.
2) Become a photographer for a day
Don't worry, no classes required! I don't know why, but it seems a great deal of creative inspiration in writing comes from photos. So, go make some! Go and photograph anything and everything that makes you smile or captures your attention. How does this help? You get a day off and some time to relax, while simultaneously gathering tools for instant inspiration. No camera? Than take a walk and get some mental photos.
3) Get into character
Huh? Act out those tough scenes. If you don't have time to take a day off and you are really pushing for that deadline, then you better get into character. Actors and actresses have this down to perfection, time you start learning. By becoming your character and acting out the scenes, you have many advantages. (a) You can see how realistic or unrealistic your work is. (b) You can get a better grasp at the emotions in play and think like the character you have worked so hard to shape and form. (c) You get to shake off the stress of being hunched over a desk pushing out words and have some fun.
4) Skipping
You can't skip? Too manly to even attempt to do so? No worries, I'm talking about the scene. Skip it. What writing law says you have to writing from beginning to end? In fact, let's write from end to beginning. That's the part we really want to write anyway, right? Or, just go to the next scene, and fill in the blanks later. take a deep breath and try not to become OCD over this. I know how awkward it can feel writing things out of place. But, hey if actors and actresses can act out scenes at random, you can write them.
5) Leap Frog
More child's play? No, more skipping in fact. You are going to skip the whole damn book. That's right. If you can't get past that scene where Jessica needs to escape, but the cell is 5 layers of concrete and 1000 feet underground, with demon hounds guarding the grounds and cell, then forget it. You need to just pick up something else. This helps if you can't NOT be writing. If you have another WIP (work in progress), then put down your current manuscript and pick up the other one. It will give you a break away from the piece and give YOU peace. This worked very well with my current novel that I am editing - JUST FOR KICKS.
6) Donate
To Goodwill? Nope - your neighbor. Or sister, brother, uncle? Whoever! Take your manuscript and give it away. Let someone else write it. Think I'm joking? I'm dead serious. Ask someone close to you to write out the scene. It's true, not everyone is a writer, but everyone has an imagination. There have been countless times that I have sought out the help of my friends and family and walked away with new ideas. Even my five year old is a genius! He developed my MC's super power in JUST FOR KICKS.
Did you ever play that game in school, where you write a sentence, then pass it on to your desk neighbor and so on and so forth - then when everyone has contributed you read it out loud? Same concept. It may sound funny and outrageous, but it took a WAY different path than what you had planned, yes? There you go. Great minds may thing alike, but the best ones are those that are different.
7) Rewrite
Yep, no misunderstanding on this one. Rewrite it. All of it. take that scene, chapter, whatever, and throw it out the window. And REWRITE IT. If it seems gridlocked and there is no way you are getting through, then you need to just start over. If Jessica got into the cell by being caught, then make it so she doesn't get caught. Instead, she kicks everyone's ass and carries on to find Jerry and kill him for eating her ice cream.
Doing a rewrite is probably the best solution in most cases. You can even do multiple rewrites and pick which one you like better. This is a solution Amanda Hocking uses when she gets stuck. (I just recently discovered this when I attended her book signing in Portland on the 22nd).
8) Unplug and reboot
No, your laptop is NOT the problem. But, then internet may be. And you most definitely ARE. Distractions can some times make you FEEL like you are suffering from writer's block. You sit there and tweet, pin, look at your pig sty of a house, the dishes are piling up, you haven't showered in three days, you tweet again, you pin some more recipes and DIY projects you'll never actually try.
So, eliminate the distractions. Take a day and clean your house, take a hot shower, and wash the windows, then unplug the internet and write. You will find that without so many to-dos on your mind you can DO the writing. Take a trip to the library even. When you have no reason to stop and procrastinate, than you can get down to business.
9) Kickin' it old school
Put your hightops and legwarmers back in the closet. Really, you pulled out the record player? I meant for writing! Jeesh. Is the computer too tempting to just hit the browsers icon and is the little cursor just blinking at you but your mind is blank? Then get off the computer. Pull out a pen and pad and write. Or, drag out that dusty old typewriter and put a new ribbon in it. This ties in with the distractions. Computer are the most distarcting thing for a writer, and yet we NEED them!
I write long hand. Yes, it does cramp my hand when I really get going. Yes, I can't read my own writing from time to time, and YES it is a bit harder. But, it works. I use legal pads and paper clips to section off chapters, and I have page style post-its for notes. My finished first draft of JUST FOR KICKS is seven legal pads in a file folder in my file box. But, I love it. I feel more like a real writer when I'm writing, not typing. Then, I type it all up and make edits when I do so. Giving me a clean second draft on my laptop.
10) Just freaking write already!
Last, but not least. Just put your bum in the chair and write. You can't ever make progress if you don't at least try. sometimes, the best solution is to just push through it all. I have an embroidered...thing, my grandma made me that hangs over my desk with a quote from Fredrick Douglas on it. It says: "Without struggle, there is no progress." So, if you aren't sweating through it, then you aren't going to go anywhere.
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