Cintia
asked
Bec McMaster:
Hi, my name is Cintia and I'm from Argentina. Being a writer is what I want the most in this world, nothing makes me happier than writing, but I'm more and more frustrated with each passing day, because I've been blocked for 3 years. And it is not that I have an unfinished story. I have NOTHING AT ALL. A blank page in front of me, that only makes me sadder... Is there a way to overcome this? How do you handle it?
Bec McMaster
Hi Cintia,
I understand where you're coming from in terms of frustration. I suffer from chronic disease and when it flares, it hits me big time, and I go through cycles of roughly three months where fatigue is my enemy. I get really frustrated with myself, because I aim for a daily word count, and I can't hit that when I'm fatigued. My brain is fog. I can last about an hour on the computer before I need a two hour nap, and then I can maybe get another hour, and so on... I can barely do 0.10% of my daily word count, and I used to get so angry with myself. I kept pushing. I kept forcing it. I kept telling myself I was better than this (hey, I'm a strict taskmistress on myself (: ) My writing suffered. It was crap and I knew it was, and so I used to get so angry with myself. One of the biggest things I learned from this, is that sometimes I have to step away from the work. Rest, heal, recover, accept that I can't maintain my goal. Reset my goals. Read, watch movies, anything to inspire myself. Stop forcing myself. So maybe some of that is happening here? Maybe you need to stop forcing it? Go read, dream, play with stories in your head until you feel that hunger for them again. Have fun with it. Three years sounds like a long time too, are you still working on the same story? Maybe there's something not right in the story structure, or plot? Maybe it's not the right story (and hey, we've all had those). Maybe there's something else that's waiting for you to see it, and dream of it? Play with words, write down a dream, write down something that happened in your daily life, something that inspires you. Write to recapture the joy of it. Ask yourself, what if? And maybe one day something will shake itself out of your brain, and all of a sudden you'll be madly trying to pound out the words on for commuter to recapture it. I think sometimes, we can be a little too hard on ourselves. My main advice? Go read. Read books you've read and loved, read new novels you want to read. Something will happen, I'm sure of it.
I understand where you're coming from in terms of frustration. I suffer from chronic disease and when it flares, it hits me big time, and I go through cycles of roughly three months where fatigue is my enemy. I get really frustrated with myself, because I aim for a daily word count, and I can't hit that when I'm fatigued. My brain is fog. I can last about an hour on the computer before I need a two hour nap, and then I can maybe get another hour, and so on... I can barely do 0.10% of my daily word count, and I used to get so angry with myself. I kept pushing. I kept forcing it. I kept telling myself I was better than this (hey, I'm a strict taskmistress on myself (: ) My writing suffered. It was crap and I knew it was, and so I used to get so angry with myself. One of the biggest things I learned from this, is that sometimes I have to step away from the work. Rest, heal, recover, accept that I can't maintain my goal. Reset my goals. Read, watch movies, anything to inspire myself. Stop forcing myself. So maybe some of that is happening here? Maybe you need to stop forcing it? Go read, dream, play with stories in your head until you feel that hunger for them again. Have fun with it. Three years sounds like a long time too, are you still working on the same story? Maybe there's something not right in the story structure, or plot? Maybe it's not the right story (and hey, we've all had those). Maybe there's something else that's waiting for you to see it, and dream of it? Play with words, write down a dream, write down something that happened in your daily life, something that inspires you. Write to recapture the joy of it. Ask yourself, what if? And maybe one day something will shake itself out of your brain, and all of a sudden you'll be madly trying to pound out the words on for commuter to recapture it. I think sometimes, we can be a little too hard on ourselves. My main advice? Go read. Read books you've read and loved, read new novels you want to read. Something will happen, I'm sure of it.
More Answered Questions
Bint
asked
Bec McMaster:
Thank you so much, I can not express my gratitude to you. Just finished From London With Love (which I had recieved in my mail so thank you for that also) and it was the perfect end to keep my hopes up.When I had last asked you about writing about blood court it was a maybe ?NOW I have so excited . Only one wish that you do write it soon , my chemo scares me and would love to read these beloved books soon.
Lynne Shear
asked
Bec McMaster:
Hi Bec, I hope you are well. I just wanted to let you know that I finally finished Soulbound (though I didn't want too, I was enjoying so much!) I thought it was fabulous. I loved it! The plot was captivating and Sebastian and Cleo were sexually spellbinding! I loved all the characters but especially Lady E. I have posted reviews on Amazon and Good Reads? Absolutely fantastic. You are so talented. Best wishes Lynne
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