Patricia C. Wrede
I start by figuring out why I'm stuck. About 80% of the time, I'm "stuck" because it's a nice day and I want to go out and do something else. In that case, I either just buckle down and do it, or I take my laptop to a coffee shop or cafe so I can be "out" but still get the writing done.
The other 20% of the time, the problem is a) I know what comes next, but I really don't want to write it (it's a hard scene, I don't want to kill off a character, I hate writing council meeting, etc.), b) I have come to a pause in the book where I normally have to stop and think for a bit about where it's going - that is, it's part of my normal process, I just didn't realize it, c) I have either made or am about to make a major error in characterization or continuity that I haven't noticed, and my backbrain has gone on strike until I find an alternative.
How I deal with a) is the same as when I don't feel like it: I sit down at the computer and write anyway. How I deal with b) and c) is to stop and do the thinking. Figuring out the reason I'm stuck is usually the most difficult part, but experience helps.
Once or twice, the reason I'm stuck has been "there is a huge crisis and I cannot deal with writing on top of it," but that reason is generally self-evident. It's hard to miss a tree making a big hole in your roof, for instance, and the distraction of it is likewise fairly obvious.
The other 20% of the time, the problem is a) I know what comes next, but I really don't want to write it (it's a hard scene, I don't want to kill off a character, I hate writing council meeting, etc.), b) I have come to a pause in the book where I normally have to stop and think for a bit about where it's going - that is, it's part of my normal process, I just didn't realize it, c) I have either made or am about to make a major error in characterization or continuity that I haven't noticed, and my backbrain has gone on strike until I find an alternative.
How I deal with a) is the same as when I don't feel like it: I sit down at the computer and write anyway. How I deal with b) and c) is to stop and do the thinking. Figuring out the reason I'm stuck is usually the most difficult part, but experience helps.
Once or twice, the reason I'm stuck has been "there is a huge crisis and I cannot deal with writing on top of it," but that reason is generally self-evident. It's hard to miss a tree making a big hole in your roof, for instance, and the distraction of it is likewise fairly obvious.
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