The other day I was in my favorite store, Barnes and Noble. I checked the shelves for my favorite authors and saw all the new books out. I snatched up a couple to stick in my TBR pile and thought, "I wonder how they continue to come up with all these great ideas?" Have they suffered from writers block during their long careers?
What is Writer's Block? Is it an inability to write? Or is something blocking the flow of an author's creativity? Like a virus. As a relatively new writer I haven't experienced this, yet. I often wonder what will happen if I do get blockitis.
What does a person do to combat the problem? How do you get the words flowing into a nice cohesive wave? It wouldn't be like having a headache and popping a tylenol, waiting for the pain to subside.
Kind of scary, really when you think about it. If you love writing and couldn't get a story out, what would you do? Power down your computer? Wait the virus out?
If any of you have any tips, feel free to comment. Who knows, your words of wisdom may help another in need!
Don't forget to go to www.BrendaNovak.com to see the list of donated items for her auction coming this May!
3 comments:
a couple of things that work for me--
Fill the well. Sometimes your creative well can get low and dried out. Do something else that gives you pleasure. Watch a favorite movie, read, craft, cook, take a long walk. Whatever it takes to get you excited again.
Work through it. Give yourself permission to write crap. As long as you're getting words on paper, you're advancing. These words don't have to be on your work in progress. journaling, blogging, writing a letter (Oh, what a lost art) anything to keep your mind atuned to putting word to paper.
Not for everyone--work on more than one project. Sometimes when I get blocked on one story, I'll do some work on another. Just like having friends that you enjoy different activities with, a different story can sometimes get the creativity flowing once again.
Okay, so that was three. LOL
Hi Kathleen,
Your blog is very pretty! You look like an expert!
Yep, I've had that writer's block. On those days, I don't even want to look at my screen Ugh! For me, I just have to wait for it to pass. My mind is still working, but I'm just not physically writing then.
Thanks for stopping at my blog. I appreciate it!
Lula
Miss Mae
Great ideas, *lizzie. Thanks for sharing!
Sometimes, Lula, getting away from writing when you're stuck helps. Since I'm a pantser, I usually work with a general idea of a story with the beginning and an ending, but no clear middle. Once I complete a chapter, I let things stew around in my head until my characters tell me where to go! Not the most scientific process, but it works for me!
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