Writers Block?

I go out in the yard. I find a good stick. I wander around aimlessly shaking the stick, thinking tangentially about what I'm blocked about.

Or I do something totally unrelated, think about something else, I heard someone say 'do something monotonous'. Ask my facebook friends random questions like 'what do you smell like?' and maybe one of them says something that jogs my thought processes.

here your poems still warm me when memory drains

I watch TV. It doesn't help, but at least I'm entertained.

Embrace the Crap!

All seriousness aside, I imbibe massive amounts of hard liquor then go riding bike around the neighborhood in my underwear at three in the morning describing in a boisterous manner and with prolific detail the contents of my pantry.

Alternatively, I will start reading technical guides for writing fiction on obscure websites that I happen to find on occasion. Or I'll ask "What Would Neil Gaiman Do?".

iliketoridemybikesiliketoridmybikesiliketoridemybikes

Force my way through it. Word by painful word. Or get a snack. Or watch TV.

[Redundant Widget Removed]

~Chris

Ha! I love that, "What Would Neil Gaiman Do?" What wouldn't he do? He's one of the craziest, most out-there writers I've read while still able to make his storie seems to make complete sense.

When I grow up, I want to be him.

Anything other than write. Walking, talking a bath or shower, going for a long drive errr running errands that is, washing dishes, cleaning out the scary closet, all of these at one time or another have helped me break through writer's block. Naps help too sometimes.

"The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected." Swedish proverb

I'm partial to doing the dishes or laundry. I hate both chores with a passion which makes them ideal of breaking writer's block because my brain will start feeding me ideas so that I can get out of them.

I usually stave off writer's block by doing a lot of pre-writing. That is thinking about what happens next (and after that and after that) when I'm doing other boring tasks like driving, cleaning the living room, getting dressed, walking the dog, etc. That way I don't have to try and think about plot while I'm figuring out which words to use.

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It's not about the words, it's about the meaning - the words are just there to hold it all together.

2007 - Hands Down - winner
2008 - Natural Spirits - winner
2009 - The Queen's Own - ?

It's not about the words, it's about the meaning - the words are just there to hold it all together.

2007 - Hands Down - winner
2008 - Natural Spirits - winner
2009 - The Queen's Own - winner

Writer's block during NaNo? Break things or move on. If I can't figure out where to go next, or how someone should react, or just really don't want to write that scene, I make a point to change things around. Have absolutely no desire to write about the lunch date between the main character and the man interested in her? Then don't - summarize it with "I certainly wouldn't have predicted that squirrel" and move on. Is the man interested in her completely boring and you find yourself dreading writing about him every day to the point you're actually watching paint dry instead? Maybe he's a secret spy for the Germans who's only courting her to make sure she doesn't reveal his secret. Oh, and that guy she dumped in chapter 3? He's really the love of her life - she just had to dump him and date the evil German to discover it.

If I'm really truly stuck and I can't figure out what to write or how to break things, I go ask my roommate. She'll give me something random to work with.

"You can get away with stuff in real life that you can’t get away with in fiction." -Robin McKinley

Neil is probably my favorite person ever. I read his blog, and I've seen him read The Graveyard Book live (Last November, St. Paul! I remember writing in my notebook for NaNo while I was there before he spoke.)

His books are a joy to read. And he's dating one of my favorite musicians (Amanda Palmer).

It's really hard to express my love for Neil in words. REALLY hard.

Anyway, about writer's block- I text my best friend/first time NaNoer and ask her to give me a word to prompt me. It helps, I fleshed out a whole scene from the word "fire" two nights ago.

"I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear." -Freddie Mercury

So far the best thing I have found to break through a really anoying bit of writers block is to sleep on it and then get up really early the next morning and write several pages before you are even awake. Then, no matter how sucky it is, keep going and don't look back.

At least not this month.

Three days into NaNo, when I discovered that I'd already written my main character into and out of a coma, I knew I was in trouble. I spoke with my husband. "I dunno, sweetie. It's just not coming together like it did last year." Of course, last year was my first attempt at NaNo. I had no expectations and remarkably, few complications. This year - pun intended - has been a different story.

My husband, not being a NaNo writer himself, responded to my whining by asking this: "Well, why don't you just start over with a new story? You're only a few days into it, anyhow."

I think my look of shock and horror was what made him decide to run to the liquor store. This is what he brought back:

2007 WRITER'S BLOCK
LAKE COUNTY CABERNET FRANC
Produced and bottled by QMS Group

He redeemed himself.

If you're into wine (and over 21, of course! I don't want to be shut out of NaNo for promoting underage drinking!) go pick up a bottle. It even has the blessed Bard on the label. I can't promise it will make the words start flowing as booze did for Hemingway, but the empty bottle sure does make for a fabulously annoying paperweight... "Hey! Mercaptan! Is that you filling up the NaNo website with drivel? Get back to writing!!!"