Karin Bishop
See my answer for getting inspired ...
I don't deal with psychological block as much as chronological block--not finding the time to write that day because Real Life gets in the way!
What some writers call a block, for me might be the signal that I've written my characters into a corner. It might be interesting to see how they deal with it, but there is a crucial difference between them and people in corners in Real Life, and that is my supposed omniscience.
I'm SUPPOSED to know, more or less, how things develop and how they'll work out. Some books of mine have been meticulously written out--I even tried lateral timelines on a roll of butcher paper! Others, I simply fastened my seat belt and held on, transcribing rather than scripting.
With my "supposed knowledge", I might see that the corner will not allow the flow, and I take steps back (like retracing your missteps in a labyrinth), one-by-one, until I see the clear path ahead. And sometimes it KILLS me to remove the paragraphs or pages, because they might have some really good stuff in them. I've learned to copy the "corner text" and paste it in a blank doc and save it--it might be useful in another book.
Besides my docs of story ideas and snippets, I also transcribe (literally) paragraphs or sections of other writers' books that particularly struck me as Gorgeous Writing. Occasionally, if I'm feeling sluggish, I'll read a few of those for renewed energy. I recommend it, too, because rather than copying and pasting, I actually type the text, and I can SEE how they constructed their sentences, how they chose their words, to get the FEEL that made me want to keep their writing in the first place.
And then I try to write like that!
I don't deal with psychological block as much as chronological block--not finding the time to write that day because Real Life gets in the way!
What some writers call a block, for me might be the signal that I've written my characters into a corner. It might be interesting to see how they deal with it, but there is a crucial difference between them and people in corners in Real Life, and that is my supposed omniscience.
I'm SUPPOSED to know, more or less, how things develop and how they'll work out. Some books of mine have been meticulously written out--I even tried lateral timelines on a roll of butcher paper! Others, I simply fastened my seat belt and held on, transcribing rather than scripting.
With my "supposed knowledge", I might see that the corner will not allow the flow, and I take steps back (like retracing your missteps in a labyrinth), one-by-one, until I see the clear path ahead. And sometimes it KILLS me to remove the paragraphs or pages, because they might have some really good stuff in them. I've learned to copy the "corner text" and paste it in a blank doc and save it--it might be useful in another book.
Besides my docs of story ideas and snippets, I also transcribe (literally) paragraphs or sections of other writers' books that particularly struck me as Gorgeous Writing. Occasionally, if I'm feeling sluggish, I'll read a few of those for renewed energy. I recommend it, too, because rather than copying and pasting, I actually type the text, and I can SEE how they constructed their sentences, how they chose their words, to get the FEEL that made me want to keep their writing in the first place.
And then I try to write like that!
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