After the loss of NaNoWriMo, it did not take the Crowvus writers long to realise how much we relied on this structured routine for our writing. For me, November had become the only time I was guaranteed to do creative writing. In fact - if truth be told - I've done very little at any other point of the year. Consequently, we decided to adapt to our own interpretation: Cro(w)NoWriMo - the W is in brackets because there was some discrepancy over whether or not it should be in there. The rules were simple: Write. As November went on, the end goal changed slightly for each writer. Was it 50,000 words? Was it to write every day? Was it to write an entire book? For me, it was about finishing a book. I haven't finished an historical fiction book in ages - though I've started plenty! Now, with four more writing days left on the clock and into the final chapter, I might finally be able to lay the ghost. The story I returned to was Poisoned Pilgrimage , the book I began as a submiss...
It's Thursday! So get ready for some harsh truths about writing and publishing.
This week, we are talking about that divisive of all writing topics: writer's block!
Writer's Block is when, for no explicable reason, a writer loses their productivity. Some writers believe that it exists, others are certain it does not.
But, here's the harsh truth: writer's block does exist. There are times when a writer struggles to write a single page. When people say it doesn't exist, what they usually mean is "you can do something about it". To say writer's block isn't real takes away from of the skill of an author. It is the author's skill to work through writer's block.
So, here are a few ideas to help you work through this very real predicament:
- Just sit down and write. You might write a load of rubbish, but you're going to edit your book anyway, so don't worry! Get that chapter down and, by the time you've written a few hundred words, you'll have probably pushed past that seemingly impenetrable wall.
- Listen to music. Create a story playlist that you listen to every time you write that particular story. That way, if you're struggling to write, pop the playlist on and your brain will tell you it's story time!
- I don't go in for the whole journal-writing thing, or writing exercises. I like to have something a little more useful to show for my hard work. However, some authors find small writing exercises enough to get them in the writing zone.
- I might be shot down by other authors for saying this, but I find marketing to be a great way of getting myself in the writing frame of mind. Make promotional photos, research book covers in your genre, read writing advice blogs. All these things will help your author business. They are worth the time.
- Reward yourself. Rewards work really well during NaNoWriMo because it's all about word count, and a high word count that will be tricky to achieve. When you hit the 1667 word mark (this is the amount of words you should write a day in NaNoWriMo) treat yourself to a Youtube video, or some goodies.
So there's five pieces of advice for Writer's Block. Remember that writer's block is very real, but it's how you deal with it that's important!
Subscribe if you'd like harsh truths every Thursday, and a more positive look at writing and publishing on Saturday.
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Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels
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