How I Write-- Writer's Block (or how I fight the monster in the shadows)

This week, my Accountability group are going to answer the following questions: This week's topic is writer's block? Fact or myth? How do you deal with it?

I think writer's block can definitely happen. It's the monster in the shadows, feeding on muse crack. I'm always envious of those who can claim they don't believe in it, those who force themselves to keep moving, despite the block. That is the most disciplined writer, those who can stand up to the monster and look it in the face and then reach into its throat and pull out that half-devoured muse crack back out.

Me? I'm still working on it.

There are ways to hold off that monster, by having a file of ideas, but sometimes, that's not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes the words is what's blocked... a writer block's mutation version of mental constipation. For me, this is the worse. It's when the ideas are all there and I KNOW what I want to write but it just won't come out.

Or what about writer's block's bad boy cousin, procrastination? Now that one... he's one slick beast, luring me with the sparkly pictures and ideas on Pinterest or my TBR pile. I'd like to say that procrastination helps with the writer's block (my excuse), but no, it doesn't. I've fallen victim to this dirty scheme way too many times to know better. And the thing with procrastination, is that it's addicting. It's a drug. I can't just read one chapter. One chapter becomes three and then I find myself having wasted all day and the book done. But oh, there's always more books, procrastination whispers, 'not like you wasted the time. You were studying writing'.

Yeah, that excuse doesn't fly when you have deadlines and books to write.

So what DOES work? What will beat back the dreaded writer's block and stop it in its track before it inhales your musecrack and causes word-constipation? BICHOK--butt in chair, hands on keyboard-- is something a lot of people say works. By showing up, you should be able to write. Not really. Not when that monster is on your shoulder and devouring the words before they even form in your mind. How can showing up help if you are just staring at a screen, fighting tooth and nail for every word? It doesn't.

For me, keeping busy helps the most. I'll clean the apartment and do the dishes. Go shower. I'm not sure what it is about water but somehow, this helps. I read somewhere once that it had to do with re-energizing ions in the body or something, but whatever the reason, things come easier when I'm being busy. I don't mean busy in the -I-Need-To-Concentrate-Or-I-May-Hurt-Myself, like chopping up veggies or something, but, mindless chores. I said once that I'm a daydreamer. I daydream the scenes I'm having trouble with. I put myself in the shoes of the characters and play the scene out. I note the dialogue and what happens.

When that doesn't help, I listen to music. Loud. And yes, I give in to procrastination and play games... and while I play these games, daydream those scenes that are giving me fits. As much as I'd like to blame procrastination for everything, it does help at times. Pinterest is good at giving me ideas because you can create collages of ideas for characters and scenes and whatnot and that can help to fight off writer's block.

I don't know if there will ever be a surefire way of fighting it off, but for me, these things help. In small doses, that is.

For more on what my friends have learned while writing, click on their links!

Danie Ford
Emma G. Delaney
Kimberly Farris
Kristen Koster

Life...

Some days the writing controls you... other days you control the writing.

Think there's a difference? There is and I'm finding this out more and more these past few months. With work being on the foremost part of my mind these days, I'm finding that instead of the writing being the one that demands my time, I'm having to force myself to even get a few words down.

Not to say that I haven't been, but it makes me realize just how much that I am controlling my characters right now, forcing myself to get those words on page when I didn't have to before because it was my characters who wouldn't shut up and would demand my attention.

My writing mojo has taken a hit.

It's something that all writers deal with. Stress in life is all around us-- whether it's work or family or whatever. There's always going to be something there that will make it hard to get to those daily pages.

It's time to take back writing...

Distractions

I read a quote lately that I thought really got to the heart of matters. That quote?:

Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the internet.” Anonymous

It all comes down to discipline and not listening to little voices that work to tear your writing confidence apart or those that whisper about chores needing to be done or how your favourite show is on and it's the episode where...*insert plotline*. There will always be something there that needs to be done or you might prefer to do. I know I definitely don't always want to write. This weekend was proof of that. I had my moments of 'oh I suck' and 'I need another rewrite'.

Because yeah, that'd really help.

I listened to that little voice. I gave it substance and in the end, did I write? No. I was not writerly. What'd I do instead? I watched movies and surfed the net. The net as anyone knows, is a bad mind-suck. There's articles to be read. Forums to go through. People to talk to. I even downloaded a couple of games to play while I grumped about.

I did, however, figure out a bit of a plot for Fatal Temptations. While at my parents I'd written two scenes... that the computer apparently didn't save. I lost my words. I'm not sure how much of it got lost but I grumped over that fact. And then figured out where I was going to go and how scenes were going to line up. But I didn't write it. Not yet. Why? Procrastination tho art my enemy. It's an action scene that I'm at. Hero has to get attacked and heroine has to step in... and ultimately get hurt, revealing to him who she really is (Or I suppose 'what she really is' would be more appropriate).

What else did I grump over? The fact that there are no original ideas. Everywhere I looked this weekend I was seeing the main themes over and over again. I know it will be different because they are my characters and plot lines are different, but still. I got huffy and wanted to rewrite. Which is my enemy. I am the Queen of Rewrites.

Do you listen to those little voices? Do you let them lead you off the Writer Path? What do you do when you are procrastinating?