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Wednesday, February 10, 2010When The Writing Stops...Does It Really Stop?
Question for the day: When the writing stops do you blame the muse? Seems like a lot of the people are talking about writer's block in articles and blogs...overcoming an uncooperative "muse", not being able to write/getting back into the habit.
When I first started working toward fiction publication, I blamed not wanting to write on not being able to write. The muse wasn't with me was a favorite response. Instead of going through the manuscript to see what was stifling my creativity, I'd just throw up my hands. Can't write today. No muse.
When I began taking my chances at publication seriously, I had to stop that. I mean, I couldn't just not produce the 5pm news (back in my television news days) because The Muse Wasn't With Me. Why was I using as excuse on writing that was just as important to me as my paying job? If I wanted publication I had to become better. To become better I had to write. So, I began to look for reasons, actual reasons, that the words weren't coming. And doing that changed my writing process.
Instead of just sitting down to write, I sit down to prepare to write. I make notes about the manuscript throughout the day when I'm working on other things. Then, when I'm at a stopping point with the nonfiction assignments, I read through the previous chapter. That helps me get back into the manuscript groove. From there, I start writing. Now, the process isn't fool-proof. Some days are good writing days and some are bad, but I've found when I'm stumped, when the words just won't come there is a reason. Maybe I've written myself into a corner, maybe the GMCs of the major players have changed or aren't clear enough or need to change. By reading previous chapters, I can find those little threads that can stop my writing dead in the water.
What about you? Do you have any tips for getting the words to flow again?
Posted By: Kristina Knight @ 4:08:43 AM