Byron T.D. Smith
To paraphrase Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid, "Remember. Best block... no be there."
It's a frustrating thing to stare at a blank screen of potential; even worse to find yourself working on the same sentence after a half an hour.
Nothing works 100% of the time, but I can think of two practices that I use, which help to get engaged more quickly and stay there.
Firstly, I don't edit my first drafts as I go. I'm focused entirely on getting the framework onto the page. In Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery, much of the first draft made it into print, but there were lots of days of "editing bloodbath," too. Still, if it weren't for that permission to be imperfect in the beginning, I might still be working towards completing the manuscript.
Most importantly, I say, leave meat on the bone for tomorrow. If I've had a day of writing, I make it a point to leave the piece in an interesting place. Somewhere where I know with confidence what must happen next. Something juicy that I'm looking forward to writing - first draft or edits. When I show up the next day, I'm jazzed to get started.
Maybe it says something about me and avoidance. Who knows? But, like Mr. Miyagi, I try to deal with writer's block by simply not being there.
It's a frustrating thing to stare at a blank screen of potential; even worse to find yourself working on the same sentence after a half an hour.
Nothing works 100% of the time, but I can think of two practices that I use, which help to get engaged more quickly and stay there.
Firstly, I don't edit my first drafts as I go. I'm focused entirely on getting the framework onto the page. In Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery, much of the first draft made it into print, but there were lots of days of "editing bloodbath," too. Still, if it weren't for that permission to be imperfect in the beginning, I might still be working towards completing the manuscript.
Most importantly, I say, leave meat on the bone for tomorrow. If I've had a day of writing, I make it a point to leave the piece in an interesting place. Somewhere where I know with confidence what must happen next. Something juicy that I'm looking forward to writing - first draft or edits. When I show up the next day, I'm jazzed to get started.
Maybe it says something about me and avoidance. Who knows? But, like Mr. Miyagi, I try to deal with writer's block by simply not being there.
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