The main writing issue on my mind at the moment is the feeling of having your creative switch turned off by some unknown force. I hate to talk about writer's block so early in the blog, but everything I have written in the past few days has not been what I want, whether relating to my story or this. There are a few things I do when I get stuck, and the first goes against all conventional wisdom and counsel.
I stop writing.
When I know what I write will just be rewritten--and rewritten 1000 times better I might add--I don't see a reason to force myself to write the horrible refuse that spills forth. The words feel stretched out, like they've been wrung from a dry cloth. They aren't worth writing. I keep the writing that enables me to recognize that I've reached that point, but once I do, I don't keep writing until I know why I'm stuck.
Once I've stopped, I take a step back and look at the problem from several different angles. Is the scene necessary? If it is, is it being told from the best point of view? Is it happening at the right time? Are the right people there? If I can't figure out the answers, or if the answers still don't help me move on, I take a different route.
I draw pictures.
Most of the time my doodles have very little, if anything, to do with what I'm writing. But the problem is there in the back of my mind and I work on it unconsciously. (This is something my Calculus teacher once told me about. If you can't work it out, put it away for a while, and your brain will figure it out. It never really worked for math, but it's good for writing.)
Sometimes, all creative faculties have abandoned me, and I just have to walk away and do something else for a while. Sometimes, that while is a few hours. Sometimes it's days. And a few times, I must admit, it has lasted months. But I always come back, and I continue working on that same thing that originally gave me the problem. Some answer this problem by just coming up with something new, but I want to be an author, and I never would be if I did that. Doing what I do is often looked down on--the "you can't wait for a specific mood" kind of thing--but in my position, I am writing for me. When I have others to please, maybe I'll find a way to get rid of the creative mood swings, but for now, I only have to write for me. I am a Writer. And I have time to wait.
Hey, it's still Friday! (for a few more minutes)
I draw pictures.
Most of the time my doodles have very little, if anything, to do with what I'm writing. But the problem is there in the back of my mind and I work on it unconsciously. (This is something my Calculus teacher once told me about. If you can't work it out, put it away for a while, and your brain will figure it out. It never really worked for math, but it's good for writing.)
Sometimes, all creative faculties have abandoned me, and I just have to walk away and do something else for a while. Sometimes, that while is a few hours. Sometimes it's days. And a few times, I must admit, it has lasted months. But I always come back, and I continue working on that same thing that originally gave me the problem. Some answer this problem by just coming up with something new, but I want to be an author, and I never would be if I did that. Doing what I do is often looked down on--the "you can't wait for a specific mood" kind of thing--but in my position, I am writing for me. When I have others to please, maybe I'll find a way to get rid of the creative mood swings, but for now, I only have to write for me. I am a Writer. And I have time to wait.
Hey, it's still Friday! (for a few more minutes)
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