Random Thoughts

Writer's block

Ok. So here’s the deal. Like any writer, I’ve had ups and downs, times when the words flow like water from my fingertips and others when it’s been more like summer in the Sahara. Writer’s block? There’s really no such thing, in my opinion. A block implies permanency and I refuse to allow that to happen. It’s more of a creative lull, usually stemming from either too much stress in my everyday life or a period of perfectionism overtaking my muse and strangling her into silence. (Duct tape doesn't work).





The past few months have been slow, word-wise. I have stories galore rambling about inside my head, but the words won’t come out my fingertips. There have been days when I’m lucky to get ten words on the page and those I’m usually not happy with. A few days ago (in the throes of dealing with the stomach flu) I decided to do something about it. What is the point in staying home from work if I can’t even write? But what to do? Going through the list of suggestions I’ve received over the course of my writing career didn’t take very long.





Sit and force myself to write? No, too much frustration in the exercise. Put it aside for a while? Nope, life would fill in the time with something else and I’d have to fight to get back to where I am, story-wise. Write the scene from another character’s point of view? Only one character is actually in every scene in the chapter so that won’t work not to mention it’s always more fun to read about someone doing something than reading about someone watching someone doing something. Start a new project? Oh, come on. I know myself better than that. I’d work on the new project and never finish the one I’m on. I’ve invested too much time, sweat, and tears to give up. Some of these exercises have worked in the past (some just don’t work with my psyche) but nothing really resonated here.





Instead, I treated myself as I would a new writer who has hit that section of calm waters for the first time. I sat myself down and gave myself a stern talking to. “Just get the words on paper,” I scolded myself. “Edits and revisions fix the stuff that’s missing or not working. Just get it down.”





Well, it apparently worked. Yesterday, I finished the chapter I’ve been struggling with and started the next. This one is flowing much better, thank you for asking. I should be able to finish these last five chapters fairly quickly if the pace holds up.





So what happened?





Perfectionism. I’m so used to the words being there, of being able to craft and tweak and smooth as I go that I forgot that, sometimes, they aren’t. Sometimes, I don’t have a scene as clearly in my head as I think I do and I don’t really know how to lay it out. Putting it down in paper “as is” allows me to see where the weaknesses are, where the wording is wrong or needs smoothing. I didn’t really need to find some cool and wonderful way to tell you that the ceiling opened up. It’s not integral to the story beyond the fact that it does, indeed, open. If I think of a cool or wonderful way of saying it later, I can edit it in.





The trick here is to not give up. That list of things to try? Some have worked and worked well in the past for me, especially writing the scene from another character’s point of view. Not all of them work for me but I know writers who they do work for and work well. If you’re a new writer, or even if you’re not, one thing is true. You are going to hit that bump in the road, the calm with no wind in your creative sails. You are going to stare at the screen or paper in frustration without any words in your head (at least, none that apply to the story at hand and most of them unprintable). Some last days, some last months. Bottom line? You can’t quit. Self-doubt, perfectionism, frustration, stress, a bad review? None of these things can be allowed to stop you. Only you can tell your story.








A touch of fantasy...





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