D.A. Holley
One of two ways. Usually, if I have writer''s block it means something in the story is broken, and I don't always know how to fix it. Most often, I'll just take a break from writing that story and write something else while I figure out what wasn't working and find a way to fix it. In Spirit of Shadow, for instance, I had a plot line that involved the Emperor helping the rebels to undermine the Shadow Queen's efforts. The problem was I couldn't square his motivations with the motivations of the rebels. I ended up deleting and rewriting about 30-40k words in order to fix the problem, completely restructuring the plot in the process.
Otherwise, I just write in a scene that was missing or rewrite a scene that isn't working. Most often, the problem is something minor, like the POV for a scene needs to be shifted to someone else in order for it to work without sounding forced. I've found consulting friends who read or write avidly also helps because we can bounce ideas off each other to figure out how to fix it, and if all else fails, I'll record myself talking and brainstorm my way out of it. I logged about 20 hours of those sessions for Spirit of Shadow and the runoff for future books in the series, most of which got deleted when the finalized story was done.
A lot of work goes into writing a book, and in particular writing a series. But I have a small advantage in that I have a document that contains about 10 years of world building surrounding Etherel. I think it's standing at about 90k words now, with about 1k dedicated to a secondary language, several pages related to the magic systems, and I'm not even sure how much related to the cultures of the various regions of the world. I'm still adding to it, too, but most of that information came out of a period of about 2 years in which I didn't have regular access to a computer and therefore couldn't write regularly. I was working a night job at a group home and basically staying awake by pounding coffee and worldbuilding in fifteen minute intervals between bedroom checks. It was a strange time in my life. The point is, having a worldbuilding bible on hand has given me a reference to go back to when I feel like something isn't working so that I can see what I have established and work with it. I find this approach makes storytelling easier because what you see is in the pages you read is built on a solid foundation that I can use as a rock of support when my brain doesn't want to cooperate.
Otherwise, I just write in a scene that was missing or rewrite a scene that isn't working. Most often, the problem is something minor, like the POV for a scene needs to be shifted to someone else in order for it to work without sounding forced. I've found consulting friends who read or write avidly also helps because we can bounce ideas off each other to figure out how to fix it, and if all else fails, I'll record myself talking and brainstorm my way out of it. I logged about 20 hours of those sessions for Spirit of Shadow and the runoff for future books in the series, most of which got deleted when the finalized story was done.
A lot of work goes into writing a book, and in particular writing a series. But I have a small advantage in that I have a document that contains about 10 years of world building surrounding Etherel. I think it's standing at about 90k words now, with about 1k dedicated to a secondary language, several pages related to the magic systems, and I'm not even sure how much related to the cultures of the various regions of the world. I'm still adding to it, too, but most of that information came out of a period of about 2 years in which I didn't have regular access to a computer and therefore couldn't write regularly. I was working a night job at a group home and basically staying awake by pounding coffee and worldbuilding in fifteen minute intervals between bedroom checks. It was a strange time in my life. The point is, having a worldbuilding bible on hand has given me a reference to go back to when I feel like something isn't working so that I can see what I have established and work with it. I find this approach makes storytelling easier because what you see is in the pages you read is built on a solid foundation that I can use as a rock of support when my brain doesn't want to cooperate.
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