Captain's Log - Pep Talk #2

Ahoy, mates!

The waves are getting high. I smell a storm in the air. Secure the cargo. Be ready to trim sails.

'Tis the storm of doubt. At the center of this storm is Writer's Block.

'Tis a nasty beast with tentacles that come out of nowhere and while it won't pull you under the waves, it will keep you from making progress. Worse than the doldrums because in the doldrum, eventually the wind will return and you will progress. The Writer's Block beast is in no hurry. It bides its time and enjoys your struggles.

(Yes, I know it says "Pep Talk".....I'm getting there!!)

Writer's Block can be defeated with a devil-may-care attitude, books of inspiration, and a few well placed non-sequiturs.

It can be tough, but do not listen to the siren song of "I am never going to get through this." Yes, you will. November 30 will come and you'll be eating your turkey casserole at 11pm saying, "Wow, I did it! I survived NaNoWriMo!"

Don't worry about making it perfect!! Get the gist of it down. Even as you're writing you'll think, "There is no way my main character would use the word 'groovy.'" But just write it that way and fix it later! Change it to splendid, interesting, cool or boffo later. For now, peace out, dude.

In my NaNo project, I am floating between sections. I'm not writing in chronological order, even though it's mapped out that way. I could be working on chapter four but if something relevant to chapter 12 comes up, I'll switch gears and at least make a few notes in chapter 12. (This is why starting NaNo with at least an outline comes in handy)

Keep some books and/or CDs handy that inspire you. Maybe music that speaks to the mood of that particular page or that particular event. I'm writing about my father, and loss and death. Yes, I know, such cheerful topics. But I have been plugging in songs or CDs that remind me of that era of my life. "Never Surrender" by Corey Hart was one of my Dad's favorites. "The Living Years" by Mike and the Mechanics. "Coming Out of the Dark" by Gloria Estefan. They help me remember, and help me focus or tune in, recapturing pieces of time. When I write about my grandparents, especially my maternal grandfather who just passed on in February, there are more recent songs that come to mind, like "A Hundred Years" or "The Riddle" by Five for Fighting. You might put in a Wagner CD for a climactic fight scene (or maybe the soundtrack from Star Wars or Master and Commander). Your main characters might both be into bossa nova or Duke Ellington. You don't have to turn it up loud....just give it a listen. Take a music break.

Handy books -- how about that bestseller by Mr. Webster....The Dictionary? Or the one by Mr. Roget....The Thesaurus? The Pocket Muse. Dojo Wisdom for Writers. Your "Word a Day" calendar. Books of quotable quotes. This brings me to....

Non-sequiturs and random ideas.

Start free associating. Start with one word and then write the first word that pops into your head...then another, then another. Not only will you add words to the page but you will eventually get yourself "unstuck." Your comments and quotes and sentences might not have anything to do with anything....they might rival Seinfeld for being "a show about nothing" but eventually you will be moving forward.

One of your characters finds scraps of paper with words on them. It looks like they've been shredded for a reason. Maybe he or she is sorting through the scraps trying to make a sentence.

Your main character's daughter is on Yahoo Messenger or in a chat room and begins having a conversation with someone whom she initially thinks is a stranger but then she realizes she knows the person. What's that one thing the chat room visitor said that made your MC's daughter think, "Wait...only two people know about that...."

Your main character's brother suddenly stops what he's doing, looks up in a panic and says, "Oh, no..." And he takes off running.

Or maybe your main character learns half way through the chapter that he HAS a brother....

Or maybe he learns that he's adopted....

Or maybe she finds an old letter taped to the bottom of a desk drawer....

And of course, there's always a battle scene. When in doubt, start a fight. :-) It could be a verbal argument between two characters, or an argument that your MC witnesses. Your warrior mage is walking through the woods minding her own business when an arrow plants itself in the tree right next to her head. Panic ensues when your main character realizes her little brother found her journal -- how far out of control will the chase scene get through the house? Will it spill out into the backyard? Will the chase continue down the block to the school yard?

Break something. Injure someone. Take a wrong turn. Slip on the ice (especially interesting if your story is set in summer). Someone in the neighborhood is playing Pearl Jam at indecent levels and you find out it's the pastor across the street. Discover a previously undiagnosed allergy in one of your characters which necessitates a trip to the hospital where your characters meet.......whom?

For the sake of progress and getting yourself "unstuck" you can have your character read an article or op-ed piece in the newspaper......or the passage from a book, diary, or Blog.....in my NaNo 2005 project, my main character was reading notes and papers her grandfather had left behind, including copies of old police reports which he probably acquired through questionable means. She spent a lot of time reading them and asking herself a lot of questions.

Flashbacks are good.

Ninjas dropping out of trees are good.....hey, in a present-day story, it could always be a dream sequence for your MC. :-)

(Can I count this post toward my word count???)

I hope the Pep Talk helps and some of these ideas help avoid the clutches of Writer's Block.

FOOTNOTE: our next "meeting" will be Friday the 16th at the Fallen Timbers Barnes and Noble. I HOPE to be there, but I have a job interview this afternoon for a part time position and how they might schedule me is still up in the air (although I did indicate "days preferred" for my availability). It's the halfway point for NaNoWriMo so your word counts "should be" in the ballpark of 25K by then. I know some of you have already reached or passed it. You have my admiration and utmost respect for achieving that benchmark! Help yourself to the rum!

Steady as she goes!

Your Captain
----------
Liz
NaNo 2005: Broken Branches (51K and then some)
NaNo 2006: The Fool (yes...I was....3,500 or thereabouts)
NaNo 2007: Loved Anyway
"I've been to the ends of the earth, and I know what standing still is worth." -- Darden Smith, "Perfect Moment