Writer’s Block. It’s the grizzly bear of writing problems, casually pushing over any trees you climb up to try and avoid it. Sooner or later as a writer you are going to confronted by a blank page (or these days, screen) and have no idea what to write. It’s frustrating, painful and frightening.
It’s also really no big deal at all.
Saying it never happens doesn’t really help. Certainly there are people who never seem touched by it; they are the exception not the rule. Don’t feel bad if one of your writing buddies says they can write 3000 words without even really trying. The trick is that you can too. There are three main causes, and three easy fixes for writers block. Over the next few days I’ll go into these causes and their cures.
Just written 6000 words in one hit? Including a hyper intense scene where the protagonist is in mortal danger? It’s midnight, go to bed. Writer’s Block is most commonly encountered by over worked, stressed out writers trying to force themselves to write brilliant prose. Writing is a lot like lifting weights, your body needs time, and rest, to adapt to the demands being placed on it. You can build up to it. Jumping straight into 2000 word days will cook your brain like a microwave pizza and leave you staring, drooling and crying in front of your laptop.
Being over tired can also obviously come from other things in your life. I spent some time trying to write, working fulltime, lifting weights and training for a Mixed Martial Arts fight. I got injured (no one was surprised) and when I went back and looked at what I was writing, very little of it made any sense. I was simply doing far too much and pushing my body and my mind far beyond what I was used too.
These are fairly obvious, but emotional exhaustion is the one that takes the biggest toll on the writers I know, me included. This cause is particularly bad because of the idea that you need to suffer to write (which is bull puckey by the way). Sitting down to write after having a huge argument with your spouse or a death in the family may give you inspiration to write, but if you’re trying to write a novel (as opposed to writing for catharsis, which is different) then giving yourself some time to process the emotions will give you more inspiration, not less.
Sleep is the first order of the day (and night) for writers. None of us get enough sleep unless we’re unemployed. Everyone needs differing amounts of sleep, but usually if you’re getting less than 6 hours a night, you will be If you’re having issues with sleeping then take a look at this article posted on Family Doctor, they cover your sleeping environment in more depth than I ever could.
Truth be told though, we all know we need to sleep. If your sleep problems are ongoing, you may need to speak to a doctor. What should you do if you have a short term exhaustion problem and a blank white screen looming in front of you?
You can start with coffee. It certainly won’t help in the long term, but it will boost your mood. Good quality coffee also contains high levels of anti oxidants that can help with your overall stress level. You can also get caffeine pills and energy drinks, but if you can stomach it (and afford it!) then high quality coffee is the best caffeine delivery system you can get.
After a couple of days of relying on coffee though, it’s going to start losing its effect. If you’re going to be losing sleep, or are under any kind of elevated stress for more than a few days, then it is worth considering taking an adaptogen. Now, obviously I’m not a doctor, nor a medical practitioner of any kind, so ALL advice in this regard needs to go via your doctor before you take it on board.
Read that bit again.
Okay. Now, adaptogens are a class of herb that helps your body adapt to stressful situations, such as increased exercise, lack of sleep or…writing deadlines. I have found the best results with a herb called Rhodiola Rosea; however Siberian ginseng and true ginseng are other popular options. These don’t give you a boost in the same way that stimulants do, they just help your body return to a happy baseline (homeostasis for those of you who’ve studied some biology).
Tags: advice, recommended reading, writer's block
I can’t stop adding links, it’s an addiction! This one is required reading though Nathan Bransford is a literary agent for Curtis Brown LTD. His blogging of writing advice is just plain excellent, if you’re wanting to get published any time soon, give him a visit.
As promised, Chapter Two of The Shadow Library is good to go right here. Things get scarier, and gorier in this chapter. Of course that meant I really enjoyed writing every bit of it.
I really hope you all enjoy what I’ve written, please feel free to leave your comments here or on the free chapters page.
Tags: Free, Free Chapters, News, PDF, The Shadow Library
Okay, so the title sounds dirty but I got your attention. I wanted to give a mention to an excellent writing blog I found today while ostensibly doing ‘research’ (reading twitter) by the name of Writer’s Remorse. Chock full of interesting articles and useful links, I fully recommend it.
I got 1800 words out tonight. Not as many as last night, but more usable I think.
Thought for the day: Cheese. So Awesome. Procrastination, not so much.
I first picked up on this editing technique at Orson Scott-Card’s website Hatrack and then expanded on it to suit my purposes. Uncle Orson (he’s not my uncle, he just refers to himself that way) advises that the first thirteen lines of a manuscript are the first thing a potential agent or editor sees. The way most hardbacks are printed, not to mention an increasing number of paperbacks, the majority of the first page is blank. All you get of the story is the first thirteen lines.
Those thirteen lines had better be spectacular because if they’re not, the potential agent or editor has a lot to do that day and the rejection pile is just a wrist flick away.
My suggestion is to write your first chapter, or two, or thirty two and then come back and copy/paste those first thirteen lines into word. You can bring an intensity of focus onto thirteen lines that just can’t be maintained over a whole chapter, and if you work hard on it you can turn out thirteen lines that grab the reader by the back of the head and say “Hi! Hope you don’t have any plans for the next few days because you’re going to be here, reading this book. Hope you’re comfy”.
Now here’s were I branch off on my own. Once you’ve done your first thirteen, go and grab the next thirteen and try the same thing. This very much time and patience dependent and theoretically you could go through your entire book this way. What I would like you to do, and I’ve been doing today, is go through your first page like this, then edit the rest of your chapter as normal.
The extra intensity you get from the thirteen line trick spills over into your normal editing frame of mind.
Chapter Two of The Shadow Library up tonight! Just going over the finishing touches now.
I’ve set plenty of them, failed at most, but achieved a couple. It’s been a while though, since I set myself something so truly monumental, so utterly ridiculous my girlfriend will once again consider calling the men in the white coats.
So here it is. First, finish the first five chapters of The Shadow Library by the end of the month. Where I am that’s another three days. Unlikely at best.
Step two? Finish another 50,000 words and hopefully the novel in the month of July, my own premature nanowrimo. Why not wait until November when nanowrimo is in full swing anyway? Partly because I’d like to do nanowrimo as its own project, and because I’m horrifically impatient (a bad combination with procrastination) and want to get the story in my head onto paper.
In my favor is my high caffeine tolerance, a good story plan and an understanding (if dubious) girlfriend.
I’ll keep you posted.
I just finished a review of Mignon Fogerty’s excellent book Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. If you’re struggling with your grammar then this book can help you.
You need help.
So do I.
Check out the review here.
I couldn’t look at adversarial spelt as adverserial any more. It was a nice idea while it lasted but I’ve gone and changed the front page to the correct spelling.
I’m finalising the very last bits of Chapter two ready to go up on Monday for you all right now, then going for epic lunch with a super creative friend who’s very kindly doing some artwork for me as an add on for The Shadow Library.
I’m also getting an advertisement for this blog to put up once the first six chapters are ready to read. I’m also sorting out some podcasting gear so I get up audio recordings of The Black Library.
It’s been a busy day.
Tags: artwork, caving in, changes, News, podcasting
I haven’t listened to anything by Michael Jackson for many years, and I don’t think I’ve ever considered myself a fan. In that vein my only memories of Farrah Fawcett are watching Charlie’s Angels re-runs. However during a moment of silence a local radio host had for both for them this morning, a problem I was having with writing chapter three of The Shadow Library got solved.
In my case, the major problem with writer’s block is the sudden loss of momentum. I don’t feel intimidated by the blank page, we just sit there and stare at each other like bad dates with nothing to say until I make up something else to do. The moment of silence on the radio gave me a little reminder to just relax, close my eyes and think of nothing.
Then the idea’s began flowing again.
I had gotten myself wound up about starting the book to far into the action, and I thought I needed to go back and insert some back-story. This would have been a horrendous mistake. The writing I was doing was not good, because I felt I had to do it, rather than wanted to. It would also have stolen a lot of the momentum the book has at the start. I trust that my readers are smart enough to infer back story from the clues I’ve put in. Some more foreshadowing probably isn’t a bad plan, but that’s a tiny thing, not a whole new chapter.
I wrote 2000 words before I had my my moment’s epiphany and all because a radio host was conscientious enough to call a moments silence. You don’t need an icon to die to generate this within your own brain. Just switch everything off, radio, phone, everything that makes noise* and take thirty seconds to a minute for your brain to unclench.
You’ll be amazed just how good your brain is if you let it alone for a minute.
Tags: advice, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Kackson, momentum, writer's block
One the major themes of The Shadow Library is that no matter how you resist change in your life, change is coming to you whether you want it or not. Right now, publishing is undergoing a change that many people are resisting.
Consequently some (lots) of publishers are going under, those that are still around are having to more careful where they put their money and that means that the old model of sending out queries and waiting for a publisher or an agent to come to you just isn’t going to work. Sure, someone out there will be the exception to the rule and if you have truly gargantuan talent you might find this doesn’t apply to you.
You might also find your gargantuan talent sitting in a slush pile for a month and then sent back to you unopened. You need a hook, a reason for an editor or an agent give some of their time to. Editors and agents are incredibly time starved, even before they pick up a manuscript. You want to get published? Give them a reason.
Better yet give them 10,000 reasons.
In the world of webcomics, having 10,000 regular readers is a benchmark of success, the point where you can at least consider making a living from your comic. The same applies for your novel. If you can go to a publisher and say to them “Hey, I got me 10,000 built in fans, they can’t all be insane.”* you will have a far more attractive proposition than simply telling them about how great your book is.
Of course all of this means you’re going to need to do even more work than before. Not only are you opening a vein into your laptop, you’re going to need to get a website going, interact with your audience and perhaps even get a podcast going. I use Scott Sigler as the benchmark for excellent self promotion, blogging and podcasting. Scott seems to have a thing for his characters going to bad places with butchers scissors, but I can’t fault anything he does, both in writing and on the internet because it’s so damn good. Hit up Scott’s site and listen to the podcast of his ongoing series Nocturnal for an example of a podcasted novel done right.
Without some way of showing a potential publisher that you’re a little different from the millions of others that send their writing in, you’ll be another grain of sand on the beach. Having a website is also great incentive to work on your novel, as you want to have something of significance to show that you’re not just spending all day reading twitter posts and eating astonishing sandwiches**.
*Some rewording may be necessary
**The more wasabi paste you put in it, the more astonishing the sandwich.
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