A familiar issue for most authors is facing writer's block. It's a common question on blogs, author facebook pages, and writer's guides. "How do you deal with writer's block?"
I am a new author, with my first novel, Vacancy, published in 2014. Vacancy took me a couple years to write. Sometimes weeks would go by without writing a single word.I have to admit that words do not come easy, so I have to do multiple edits and the motivation is not always there. I am now in the process of writing book 2 in the Vacancy series. So why listen to me if I only have one book under my belt. All I can tell you is my experience with the task of writing and hope you can take something from it.
Writing = Thinking
I find that when I am actively writing, I am also thinking about writing when I least expect it. When I am writing, I think about scenes or sentences, or dialogue at the strangest times, in the shower, or while driving, or at 6 am in the morning when I should be sleeping, but for some reason a cool idea popped into my head.
For those weeks/months when I wasn't writing Vacancy, I wasn't thinking about my characters, plots, or scenes. My brain's attention was not tuned into the story, so it wasn't formulating creative juices. When I was not writing, creating was a non-issue.
So, writing anything, basic sentences, or simple plot outlines, or even crappy paragraphs you know you are going to have to go back and edit 20 times, should hopefully but your creativity back on track and at least keep your mind in the game.
Notebook
Others have said this before, and I have used this trick myself, keep a notebook handy. I got a pack of six small notebooks from the dollar store. You can keep one by your bedside, or carry one with you in your purse/backpack/coat - your "person", and jot down ideas as they come. I'm not saying anything you haven't heard before, but I can say it works. When I was writing Vacancy which is set in a hotel, I was actually working at a hotel. I kept a notebook in my back pocket and would jot down observations, thoughts, ideas as they came to me, and then used them in the story.
At home I keep a notebook handy too. I have to because my memory is horrible, and if I don't write things down, I will forget it. Then, I would be thinking, "now how did that line go?" because it was a great sentence and now I had forgotten a couple words and the entire flow was ruined.
I am a reader too, so as I am reading, sometimes I will jot down intriguing words I think I might want to use. This is just another example of write when you are not really writing, at least you will have a few entries in your notebook and maybe you can make something out of your efforts.
So, what's a cure for writer's block? Well at least for me, it's writing. I'm not going to say I can sit down an churn out 1000 words whenever I want, but at least if I am in the process of writing, sometimes even a paragraph, or point form scene outline, or an entry in a notebook, any effort will get my brain thinking about characters, and dialogue, and plots, and scenes and all that stuff that makes up a story.
I am a new author, with my first novel, Vacancy, published in 2014. Vacancy took me a couple years to write. Sometimes weeks would go by without writing a single word.I have to admit that words do not come easy, so I have to do multiple edits and the motivation is not always there. I am now in the process of writing book 2 in the Vacancy series. So why listen to me if I only have one book under my belt. All I can tell you is my experience with the task of writing and hope you can take something from it.
Writing = Thinking
I find that when I am actively writing, I am also thinking about writing when I least expect it. When I am writing, I think about scenes or sentences, or dialogue at the strangest times, in the shower, or while driving, or at 6 am in the morning when I should be sleeping, but for some reason a cool idea popped into my head.
For those weeks/months when I wasn't writing Vacancy, I wasn't thinking about my characters, plots, or scenes. My brain's attention was not tuned into the story, so it wasn't formulating creative juices. When I was not writing, creating was a non-issue.
So, writing anything, basic sentences, or simple plot outlines, or even crappy paragraphs you know you are going to have to go back and edit 20 times, should hopefully but your creativity back on track and at least keep your mind in the game.
Notebook
Others have said this before, and I have used this trick myself, keep a notebook handy. I got a pack of six small notebooks from the dollar store. You can keep one by your bedside, or carry one with you in your purse/backpack/coat - your "person", and jot down ideas as they come. I'm not saying anything you haven't heard before, but I can say it works. When I was writing Vacancy which is set in a hotel, I was actually working at a hotel. I kept a notebook in my back pocket and would jot down observations, thoughts, ideas as they came to me, and then used them in the story.
At home I keep a notebook handy too. I have to because my memory is horrible, and if I don't write things down, I will forget it. Then, I would be thinking, "now how did that line go?" because it was a great sentence and now I had forgotten a couple words and the entire flow was ruined.
I am a reader too, so as I am reading, sometimes I will jot down intriguing words I think I might want to use. This is just another example of write when you are not really writing, at least you will have a few entries in your notebook and maybe you can make something out of your efforts.
So, what's a cure for writer's block? Well at least for me, it's writing. I'm not going to say I can sit down an churn out 1000 words whenever I want, but at least if I am in the process of writing, sometimes even a paragraph, or point form scene outline, or an entry in a notebook, any effort will get my brain thinking about characters, and dialogue, and plots, and scenes and all that stuff that makes up a story.