J. Leigh Bralick
Ahh, this is a great question, since I'm currently in the midst of an epic battle with that tenacious enemy. Actually, it's not so much that I have writer's block, as the fact that I'm taking a crazy insane course load in nursing school and when I do have some few minutes free for writing, I'm mentally so exhausted it just...doesn't really happen.
Seriously, though, when I am in the midst of writer's block, I have my go-to remedies. Sometimes just one of them does the trick, sometimes I've got to try all of them before it works. These are my top three:
1) Write on something else. I've got literally dozens of WIPs, and sometimes, if I'm stuck on one, I can get the words flowing on a different project, and at least I'm still being productive then. But sometimes I just feel so guilty about not working on my primary WIP (A Sea Like Glass, I'm looking at you) that I can't get traction on anything else either.
2) Do something else creative. Sometimes I dabble in music composition. Sometimes I do art. Sometimes I design book covers. Sometimes I work on my stock photography portfolio. Let's face it, sometimes we just need a break from the verbal creativity, but we still need to keep the creative juices flowing.
3) Read a book. Or three. Or ten. Fiction, non-fiction, doesn't matter. It doesn't even have to be a book—it can be news articles. World events. That sort of thing. Sometimes reading a really fantabulously awesome book will just be that spark that drives me to want to improve my own craft, or I'll read about something that's happened in this world that inspires a conflict/scene/character in my world. Alternatively, sometimes really really awful books inspire me to write so I can NOT do whatever it was annoyed me in that book. ;-)
Those are my three main remedies. Other things I like to do that may be less possible in general are travel, taking an interesting new class, going to a writing workshop, and brainstorming with awesome fellow writers/editors.
Seriously, though, when I am in the midst of writer's block, I have my go-to remedies. Sometimes just one of them does the trick, sometimes I've got to try all of them before it works. These are my top three:
1) Write on something else. I've got literally dozens of WIPs, and sometimes, if I'm stuck on one, I can get the words flowing on a different project, and at least I'm still being productive then. But sometimes I just feel so guilty about not working on my primary WIP (A Sea Like Glass, I'm looking at you) that I can't get traction on anything else either.
2) Do something else creative. Sometimes I dabble in music composition. Sometimes I do art. Sometimes I design book covers. Sometimes I work on my stock photography portfolio. Let's face it, sometimes we just need a break from the verbal creativity, but we still need to keep the creative juices flowing.
3) Read a book. Or three. Or ten. Fiction, non-fiction, doesn't matter. It doesn't even have to be a book—it can be news articles. World events. That sort of thing. Sometimes reading a really fantabulously awesome book will just be that spark that drives me to want to improve my own craft, or I'll read about something that's happened in this world that inspires a conflict/scene/character in my world. Alternatively, sometimes really really awful books inspire me to write so I can NOT do whatever it was annoyed me in that book. ;-)
Those are my three main remedies. Other things I like to do that may be less possible in general are travel, taking an interesting new class, going to a writing workshop, and brainstorming with awesome fellow writers/editors.
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