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Signs Aren’t Just for Protesters
1 March 2010 | Filed Under Age-Old Debates, Tales from the Author's Desk
The bane of every aspiring author’s existence:
Writer’s Block.
Don’t look at me like that. I know you’ve used this excuse at least once in the past. Everyone else does.
Every writer – no matter how experienced – is going to stumble over their ideas at some point. Maybe you know where you want your characters to go, but you’re not sure how to get them there. Maybe you have a crucial scene up ahead, but you can’t summon the words. Or maybe you’re experiencing the classic “what novel do I write next?”
If you ask around, you’re bound to find as many different answers on how to get past writer’s block as there are plankton in the ocean. These usually range from environmental (play music to get you in the mood) to the psychological (free write for five minutes, don’t worry about what you’re writing) to the evil (here’s a writing prompt, go!).
Most of those methods are all fine and dandy – come on, prompts? Seriously?? – but how about I let you in on a secret that can save some trees, your eyeballs, your sanity, or all of the above…
Writer’s block is a sign that you’re writing the wrong thing.
Hey, I didn’t say it would be a happy secret!
Trust me. Your subconcious is balking as annoyingly as a mule for a reason. Listen to it. Something about what you’re trying to write is not meshing correctly.
Don’t get upset [yet]! Take a step back, and try to figure out the dynamics here. It might take forever to approach it from “what is wrong here?” so try “how can I make this better?”
If you’re still having trouble, take a break. Get away from your writing spot and do something distracting or calming. You’ll get hit with an epiphany sooner or later.
No matter how you solve it, your writing will benefit. And your subconcious will thank you.
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A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.Status: Second revision
A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.1,639/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?1,087/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
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Don’t tell me *you* had a writer’s block?? You’re 10k words in! That’s amazing!
Not overall, but I still have a small one! I was writing a scene about a mean teacher, and I realized I don’t know how to end it. I don’t want to give my main character another detention, she’s still only on day 2 of a week-long one! So I just stuck a “…” at the end and moved on, hahaha
Edit: Problem solved! Difficult homework solves so many problems.
Lol, phew! Though not so much “phew” for your protagonist…haha
I met Marion Zimmer Bradley once. The topic was writer’s block. Her advice was “Talk a walk, read a book, see a movie. You’ve emptied your mind; now go refill it.”
Mean teachers…I’ve had them. I’ve worked with them. They hold the power to embarrass a student in front of all their peers in the course of just ‘teaching a lesson to the class.’ Even just making a phone call home to express ‘concern’ to the parent.
Hmm…not sure I agree that reading a book is the same as emptying your mind, but taking a break from creating is good advice for the stuck.
Luckily most of my teachers were very nice. The only really bad ones were the crazies. Not necessarily mean, just…insane.
The problem inherent with reading a book is inadvertent plagiarism. I remember coming across some stuff I’d written in middle school or high school and recognizing the name of a character from a well-known fantasy series. Well, a good name for a villain is a good name for a villain.
To be a middle school teacher, you have to be a little…off…to begin with. [Aaaahhhh! Ending with a preposition! Eeeeee.....]
I guess the issue is: was the character with the same name similar in any way (aside from being a villain) to the original? I’ve come up with fantasy names that happen to be the same as other names, real or fantasy – I usually am very disappointed in my ability to create new names. But we’ll have to chance inadvertent plagiarism, because it’s impossible to not read. Even those who try their darndest to never read have to do so in English class. (mwah hah hah)
[...] I had forgotten one of my most important tenets: Writer’s block is a sign that you’re writing the wrong thing. [...]
[...] problem with believing writer’s block is just a sign that you’re writing the wrong thing is that sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what the right thing [...]