Cintia asked Eloisa James:

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?

Eloisa James Hi Cintia! I'm sorry it took me so long to answer you. That happens to me (and every other writer) ALL the time. The answer is bribery. I do it two different ways. One is that if I really don't want to write—which is the basic problem in my case—I tell myself that I only have to write for 15 minutes and I get something I want (chocolate!). And that's IT for the day. Only 15 minutes. The second thing I do is more extended bribery. I shut the internet off on my computer and tell myself that every 5 pages, I win something. At the end of 100 pages, my husband and I go to dinner. At the end of the first draft, I buy myself something fabulous, like a pair of shoes. I highly recommend bribery!

flag