First 10/10 review on this site, so I think you should go and check it out.

You can get the review right here.

I’d bette get back to writing my novel now, still sometimes you need to read.

Just.

I set myself the goal of finishing my first, rough draft, by the end f the month and as long as I keep going on my current schedule, the rough draft will be done on the thirty first. Parts of the manuscript are pretty dire, some are outright unreadable but it will be finished, and from that I can chop out a decent first draft.

I’ll go into an explanation of rough draft, first draft and final draft next time.

That leaves the question of what to do next? I’m going to take Stephen King’s advice (in his excellent book “On Writing”) and leave in a drawer for a couple of weeks and do something else.

I also worry it’s going to make me look really stupid.

Still, without this particular set of experiences I would be far further behind in my writing than I am. I still can’t say if I’m any good, but if I am then one of my friends is at least partially to blame.

Because, in abusing this particular friend, lets call him Ross*, I’ve written well over half a million words of creative stories all describing his messy, humiliating demise at the hands of various different people, creatures and occasionally landmarks.

None of it’s printable, and some of it would have us both burnt an the stake, but we’ve both gotten a lot of practice just writing. No judgement, no need to make it good (although there were bonus points for concocting particularly gruesome deaths for each other) and no worrying about it if it didn’t make any sense.

I’m not suggesting you just send a friend an email describing in detail their death at the hands of a rabid wild boar, at least warn them about what you’re doing first. Having warned them though, back and forth emails stories between friends is a great way to refresh your writing and stimulate your creativity.

Plus, you get to send someone a really silly story and you’ll probably get one back. Awesome sauce.**

* He’s guilty as sin, but I’ve changed his name anyway

** The term “awesome sauce” I have lifted wholesale from Dave Kellett’s excellent comic Sheldon. If you’re a fan of excellent comic writing, not to mention funky art, you should be reading it.

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.

Cause 1: You’re tired

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.

The Fix!

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).

Not one heck of a lot of writing today, at least not on the main book. I did some character bios, some back story and I even helped a friend with his book’s character bios, although I mostly listened and wished I’d come up with the ideas he was having.

I found another New Zealand based podcaster/blogger/writer hybrid, Phillipa Ballantine, who can be found on her blogpjballantine.com. I fully recommend picking up her book Chasing The Bard. I’m only part of the way through, but damn, thats some good writing.

She also does excellent interviews, so if you get a chance give her a click.

Update: Technorati have asked me to enter this here code xj6gafmr4s to claim my place among their blogs. Don’t worry it’ll be gone soon.