My Author's Blog

Story ideas...?

         There are times, and I am sure I am not alone in this, that when I finally get time to sit down at the computer and write, that choosing an idea to write about is like being a kid in a candy store. 'Let's see, I could write about this idea I had on the bus, then there is this idea that I jotted down a few notes about last night when I woke up to get some water, then there is...' Sometimes it seems they just flow like a river, and the hard part is deciding which one to work on first. Those times can be exhilarating, and annoying both at once.
 
         Then there are times, and I am sure I am not alone on this one either, that I open up a fresh word.doc and my brain seems as empty as the blank screen before me. The river feels like it has been damned up stream somewhere, and I can't seem to even get a trickle. These times are just plain annoying and frustrating. We give this type of thing a name, a dirty name among writers, almost as bad as any other four letter word...writer's block.
 
         It happens to all writers at some time or another(even Stephen King), and being the creative, imaginative beings that are writers, we tend to feel rather 'shut down' when this happens. It has been my experience that this 'shut down' feeling, when left unchecked, has a tendency to merely further the problem. So, I thought I would share a few ways that I try to tackle this when it happens to me.
 
         So there I am, staring at a blank word.doc, watching the cursor flash(or is it laghing at me?), feeling like the time that I set aside is being wasted. Ok, well since I am at the computer(already having checked emails and other things), why not go over some past notes? I have found that by rereading some of the notes I have made about various story ideas, or even rereading partial stories, or short stories that I have written in the past, my mind sort of 'jump starts'. You get yourself back into focus with your writing, and sooner or later the gears start turning again(even if they do smoke a little at first).
 
         If that dosn't help, or I have gone through everything in another recent bought with block, I will sometimes just start doing random web searches on topics that are related to things I like to write about. For me that means checking out some of the fantasy/D&D sites, maybe a few blogs that I havn't been on lately, or maybe even find a few new ones and see what they have to say. Or, I start looking through random fantasy stories on writing.com and see what other people have been up to in the field. It's amazing how inspiring this can be sometimes.
 
         Another idea, when you feel you can't stand to reread that short story again, or just don't feel like doing random searching, or its just not working, is to just close the file, stand up and walk away from the computer for a while. Go do something else for a little bit, idealy something you enjoy, and which dosn't take a lot of brain power. One of my favorites is to just go take a walk about the neighborhood, get some fresh air, clean out the cobwebs, and let your brain cruise in neutral for a little while. This can be like recharging batteries.
 
         Do you have something in particular that you do to relieve, or avoid the dreaded writer's block? If so, and you want to share, drop me a line and let me know. Remember, I might just use your comments on the blog, so if you don't want me to post your comments, make sure you let me know.
 
 
         Until next time, Happy Writing!
 
RD Williams
http://www.authorsden.com/robertdwilliams1