Why is it that sometimes words flow out of your brain and onto the screen effortlessly, while at other times each syllable comes out screaming in protest as you sit in front of a stark, white monitor, your brain doing a slow idle?
Is it that life interferes with creativity? That’s a big part of writers’ block—at least it is with me. A sick baby…a significant other with an issue that demands more TLC than usual…an adult child with a problem that’s a lot harder to fix than the scraped knee he got on his first fall off a two-wheeler. The possibilities for life intruding are endless and almost impossible to ignore.
Sometimes it’s not life but my story that stalls out. My hero doesn’t want to do what I planned for him, or my heroine comes across as too stupid to live when she reacts to him in a way that pushes along the story line. I try to force the story along until I give up and let it go in a different but maybe not a better direction.
When my writing stalls out, that’s when I (the world’s worst housekeeper) decide my office needs rearranging or my windows suddenly require cleaning. Or maybe I (an indifferent cook at best) conclude that if I succeed in making that cheesecake that requires the use of every small electric appliance and specialty kitchen gadget I own, my writing block will miraculously disappear. (It doesn’t—I just get frustrated when I discover somebody drank the Grand Marnier I was saving just for this recipe.)
So what’s the cure for writers’ block? I can’t turn off life, my story won’t fix itself, and the distractions I create only last a little while and create physical exhaustion to go with the brain inertia I was trying to heal.
Sometimes a brainstorming session with a fellow author/friend helps. It’s amazing how a second, fresh take on a problem makes it somehow become surmountable. Other tricks I’ve used with some success include making a change of venue—that is, moving my writing out of the confines of my office onto the patio or into a quiet, serene park away from home. Before gas went to $4 a gallon, I used to take long, scenic rides in my car, having aimless mental conversations with recalcitrant characters and imagining how they’d react to what I was looking at.
I’ve also done what I’m doing now, LOL: avoiding that ominous, blank monitor syndrome by writing a blog entry. At least it’s a little bit productive—I think!
How do you combat writers’ block? I’m anxious to hear other takes on the subject, before I drive myself crazy. Along with my eternal gratitude, I’ll donate a download, any of my published stories the winner may want, for the comment that works best for me. (Winner to be announced on this blog on May 1, 2012, or whenever I finish LOVERS’ FEUD, whichever comes first.)
Ann, I pull Tarot cards. I don't worry about what they are supposed to mean. I just let my mind wander around with the pictures and the characters I see then start writing. I also write poetry which seems to be my way of feeding my muse.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I don't read Tarot cards but I have a pack of gorgeous ones, so I'll take them out and see if they inspire anything in my brain.
DeleteThanks for the suggestion!
I read and watch movies. If a story stalls, I re-examine my characters' motivations. The stronger my character's motivation is, the easier it is to write the story.
ReplyDeleteAlso a good idea! I don't watch a lot of movies--the DH and my son's tastes don't mesh well with mine. Maybe I'll find one on Pay Per View and treat myself to a visit with a couple of my favorite stars.
DeleteAs for reading, I avoid it while I'm in the middle of a manuscript, unless it's a book in a totally different genre than what I'm writing. Maybe a legal or medical thriller...
Thanks!
Hi Ann,
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh I hate writer's block so I totally feel for you. What helps me most is to just go for a brisk walk, preferably somewhere secluded with trees and where there is no one for miles. It puts me in another "head space" where I can get away from the story and just look at nature.
Or sometimes I will take pen and paper on my walk. I'll find a secluded spot (my favorite spot is sitting on a beaver dam in a swamp near a beaver house where it is sooooo quiet you can hear birds, and bees and the slap of the beaver's tail as it hits the water) and I pull out the pen and paper and just write longhand. Getting away from the computer really helps me.
Oh and I also do the driving around too (and as you I had to cut that down due to gas prices...ugh!)
Hope this helps. :-)
Huggers!
jan
Thanks, Jan. I may try a stroll around the neighborhood. Fortunately the weather is still pretty pleasant, not steam-bath hot as it will soon become here in Florida.
DeleteSomething has to give, and shock my brain out of its stall! I'm looking at a deadline in three days and 50K left to write, to finish up this book. :/
A walk can help or reading a good book. But when I don't want to write, hubby's advice to me is to give myself half an hour to say I tried. I've found that having the time limit takes the pressure off and I'm acutally likely to write something that doesn't totally suck. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks, N. J. I've tried giving myself an hour, and a day...even a week away from the project. That usually jolts me out of my blocks, but it hasn't worked this time. I'm at the point where I'm determined to sit at the computer and put down words, even if they aren't working. (I think I'm in more of a mood to revise than to write original stuff, LOL.)
DeleteHi Ann, usually I get writers block when my characters are protesting. As in I'm trying to make them do something that they don't want to. I'll leave them alone for a while where I'm not talking to them and they're not talking to me. Then finally they'll start screaming at me and I'm stuck writing for hours at a time (I think as punishement).
ReplyDeleteI keep hoping this will happen to me! So far they're refusing to say what it is they want to happen next. I'm thinking my next writing project will be a note to my editor explaining why she's not going to have this book by April 15...
DeleteI do one of the following three things:
ReplyDelete1. I go for a walk and think about my story.
2. I go to my favorite cafe and work there for a few hours. It works because I can't get up and wander about, so I have to write.
3. I go on Twitter and see if anyone is doing a writing sprint. My competitive edge comes out and I usually get a lot done. My writing group often has sprints too.
Good idea, Shelley! I'm off to Barnes & Noble with my laptop. Oh wait. One of the kids borrowed it while his is being repaired, so I guess I'll be doing my writing on the Netbook if I stray away from my desk.
DeleteSometimes when my mind's messed up like this, any excuse works not to get back down to work!
Hey Ann,
ReplyDeleteI tend to write at least 2 stories at a time, one romantic suspense and one fantasy/paranormal. The stories are so different that, if I get blocked on one, it's usually fairly easy to jump to the other one until the dam breaks on the first story.
The biggest thing for me in avoiding block in the first place is to limit the negativity in my life as much as I can. Nothing shuts me down faster than negative vibes. I realize that's not always possible, but it's certainly easy to avoid in some cases. I try to avoid or limit conversations with negative people, drop out of loops where fights tend to break out, and try (although I'm not always successful) not to dwell on bad reviews. #:0)
Most important, give yourself a break. You write incredible stories and overall your output is great. A day here or there where you don't produce what you'd like won't hurt you. Though I know it feels like it will at the moment. LOL
Happy writing!
You know, Sam, you may have hit on what my problem is. While I've usually worked on one book at a time, I spent last year alternating between rewriting a futuristic series (7 novellas) and writing a new 4-book BDSM contemporary series, all of which came out last year.
DeleteI complained about flip-flopping between them at the time, but I may have gotten in a habit of switching back and forth. Since I have two series contracted for this year, I may pause on the problem book and spend some time on the first book of the other series. It's for sure that the present book isn't going to reach my editor when I promised it, LOL.
As for avoiding negativity, I do my best--but it seems that for the past few months, I've been living with it at home, which isn't as easy to dodge as it is to go no-mail on a contentious list or resist controversies on the social networks! Unfortunately we can choose our friends, but not our family members.
Hugs, Ann--while I don't write, I can well imagine the frustration when you have a story to tell, something you have to write, and yet you can't begin, you can't get the words going. I hope you're well past this bump in the road, but if not, I hope you're not beating yourself up over it. I think you're doing great--I do find that taking a break, and sometimes for me, taking a walk or working out or focusing on something creative in a different vein can help. (For me, baking something or crochet or some other random crafty pursuit...) I like those activities that are busy, but use my brain in a different way than what's stopping me. And maybe taking a day or two to truly step back from the project--to intentionally not think about it but to tackle something you've been meaning to do "one of these days"? Whether it's cleaning out the garage or getting a pedicure and massage :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, keep on taking care, Ann--your stories are wonderful, and know that we'll enjoy them whenever you write them!