Monday, May 21, 2012

Marketing Monday - Ridding Writers Block

We’ve all had a moment where a scene isn’t working. We’re tired and the words are spilling out as we hoped. Our little ones are carrying around dirty diapers and you have to leave the chapter behind to care for them.

Writer’s block comes in many forms. There are those wonderful individuals who never have to experience it but for those who do I have some tips and my own personal solution for climbing out of the rabbit hole.
1. Choose fresh ideas. I like to be creative here. Everyone loves a good writing prompt but making the story especially weird allows me to climb out of this dreary attitude I’ve been harboring and dive into the creative juices. Keep yourself guessing.

What would happen if a child’s toy dinosaur came to life in the house? Tell the story from the mother’s perspective… chances are it’d take you completely out of your comfort zone (especially for those YA writers out there). Or how about Zeus ends up in the mortal world as a complete nerd… how would you handle people treating him with such disrespect where his trident wouldn’t work?
2. Don’t judge yourself. I know several of you have that inner critic constantly judging you but allow yourself fifteen minutes of freedom. Write whatever comes to mind… grocery list, rhymes, or just how much you hate the fifteen minutes of no judgment.

3. Inspire yourself. When writers block hits I love to read a good book. Pick up your favorite writers novel. Were they the ones who inspired you to write? Chances are twenty pages in you’ll find inspiration all over again.
4. I work out *dances to LMFAO*. These rockstars know all about writers block… hence these crazy songs that become so addictive they don’t leave your brain. Go for a walk… dance around your house… get out of your head and let the words leave your mind for an hour while you relax or sweat out all the toxins holding you back.

5. And if all else fails… eat chocolate.

13 comments:

Natalie Aguirre said...

I love to read for inspiration when I get stuck. And sometimes just opening the document and revising what I last wrote works. Thanks for sharing your tips.

Meredith said...

These are such awesome suggestions, especially the last three. :) I always find that going for a run or dancing around the apartment helps me destress and come back to my WiP with fresh inspiration. And good books and chocolate are never a bad idea. :)

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Changing perspective of a story can definitely help with writer's block. Seeing the same scene or outline through a different character's eyes has helped me in the past. Guess what I'll be using today???

Katie O'Sullivan said...

Great ideas, especially the chocolate ;-)

Having some trouble finishing my MS right now - think I may just start something new for a while instead...

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

For me - go watch a good science fiction movie. (That means avoiding SyFy craptastic films at all costs.)

Angela Brown said...

# 5 is my favorite.

As a mom of a kiddo who enjoys dinosaurs, I can certainly give one heck of a take on MY reaction, as a mom, if a dinosaur suddenly roared into life. Oh yeah, there would be lots of screaming involved and lots of misunderstandings, I'm sure. lol!!!

S.P. Bowers said...

Chocolate cures all!

Unknown said...

Love your inspirational advice. Especially the last one.

Nicole Zoltack said...

Chocolate makes everything better!

Carolyn V said...

I totally agree with the chocolate. I keep a bowl of it on hand just in case. ;)

Lindsay N. Currie said...

I definitely dance! And take walks or watch silly, mindless movies (Clue is one of my faves:)

Liesel K. Hill said...

Great ideas! Some of my best ideas have come out of reading addictive books and then deciding how I would have done the story differently. I then incorporate these ideas or versions of them into my own stories. I don't get writer's block often, but sometimes I pretend I have it...just so I can eat the chocolate anyway! :D Great post.

musingsonfantasia.blogspot.com AND
lkhill.blogspot.com

Elana Johnson said...

I'm with you on the chocolate! I wish I liked to work out and run and stuff. People say it frees their mind. All it does for me is remind me how much I dislike working out. It's seriously all I think about while I'm working out. "I hate this. I hate this." I don't have time to think about my plot or anything.