April 2006
10 Proven Ways To Melt Writer's Block
There is not a writer alive who has not, at some time, stared at the blank screen (or blank page) and wondered what to write next. It doesn't matter whether we're at the beginning, or lost somewhere in the middle, it still has the same frustrating result!
Like a giant ice wall, the murky space allows in just enough light for us to know we're supposed to be doing SOMETHING. But without letting in enough detail for us to see what to do next.
A few months ago we contacted the writer-members and asked for their tips to melt the ice. Below are the ten most popular, and said to be most proven:
- Read! Read! Read! Read the work of any author you enjoy, but also read the work of someone you don't particularly enjoy --- that's the one which will trigger your drive to do something better than he/she did.
- Listen! Pick up audio versions of novels at your local library and emmerse yourself in pace of plot and action. Your mind will wander to your own work -- you won't be able to help it -- it will come.
- Change your writing location! If you normally write in the kitchen, move to the bedroom or the living room. Move outdoors for a while. Or if the weather is bad, move to your local library, or your favorite coffee shop. Try writing in your favorite bookstore if they have a place for you to sit down. You'll be surprised!
- Make a Chapter Outline if you haven't already done it. You'll need it for submission, so start it now. If you've already made it, take some time to read it through and see if there's a problem with the story flow that's causing the block.
- Enlarge the character study of your protagonist -- or of the antagonist -- or of the supporting characters. Make a chart showing the year each was born, and add notes about current events before and after that time. The society each was born into will have effected how they were raised, which will have effected the personality they bring to adulthood. Sometimes knowing more about a character will become important to driving the story forward.
- Browse the Writer's Market in your genre. Reading what the editor says is desired can stimulate your creativity to produce it.
- Visit any of the featured book links that connect you to Barnes & Nobel, and read the synopsis published on the site. Also read reviews and pay attention to what readers say they liked (or didn't like). Get in touch with the customer!
- Attend meetings at a local Writer's Group. Listen to other writers, especially the ones who sound enthused about working on a project. Misery loves company; so does Success. Remember YOU have to decide which one you want for yourself.
- Don't laugh -- but you'd be amazed at how stimulating it can be to watch a daytime soap opera every day for a couple weeks. But don't just watch for something to do -- STUDY the twists in the story, take notes about how they're introduced, how they're dragged out until you're ready to give up and lose interest, and then how they're suddenly solved, but not before another twist is introduced! Learn to SEE your story as a series of scenes.
- And finally, pick a novel that became a movie. Read the book, and then watch the movie, and then read the book again. Study the pace that kept the book viable, then study the scenes left out to make the movie viable. Look at your own work with the same eye, and chances are you'll be well over the block that stood in the way for a while.
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