Showing posts with label block. Show all posts
Showing posts with label block. Show all posts

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Take that Writer's Block!


So you have writer's block. Calm down. Relax. I've got it too.

"I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible." (Roy Blount, Jr.)


Cures:

  • Resign yourself to the fact that you have to write.
  • Exercise. 
  • Focus your energy. Rehearse the task in your head.
  • Stop the discouraging mental dialog. That's right. You CAN do this.
  • Listen to music.
  • Stretch!
  • Breathe. 
  • UNPLUG THE INTERNET!!
  • Snack. (Especially on cheese.) 

And if none of those work...well, you've always got wonderful resources like this: http://funstuff.pantomimepony.co.uk/writers-plot-ideas.htm

When I get stuck all I need is one idea, one spark to get me going again. James Scott Bell in Plot & Structure suggested something I'd never considered before: the list.

Dun dun dun!

What is "the list" you ask? It's a collection of nouns, random words that pop out of your subconscious, bringing with them passion-inducing memories. Because writing comes from the heart, these nouns should prompt an emotion, and that emotion should be enough to get your fingers flying.

To illustrate I'll share one of mine: Honey.

My mom would collect "honey" orders from our neighbors and coordinated fresh deliveries once or twice a year. Every time the honey guy came we'd receive a whole bunch of extras, but the very very best part were the honey sticks. Imagine pixie sticks--but clear plastic, filled with golden sticky liquid. One particular year I recall dueling with honey sticks, me and all of my siblings, in the front yard near dusk. Magic.

Now, imagine taking the power of one such memory and infusing the emotion with your current scene. All I can hear is a big fat "WIN"!


Those are some of my methods for kicking writer's block back into his ugly corner. How do you deal with writer's block? What do you do to overcome it?