Drivel to Dazzling
Okay, maybe ‘dazzling’ is a bit strong, but for the purposes of this post, it’ll do. s + b (I’m assuming b did the asking) has asked what I do to combat writer’s block, and the simplest answer I have for that is that I try to write everyday, regardless of how unworthy I consider the words. About mid-way through writing Book 2, I ran across the idea of writing 100 Words A Day–everyday–and I loved it. It totally worked for me. I feel like it takes the pressure off. Plus, it makes it very hard to make excuses because you can get 100 words on the page in just a few minutes. They may not be the best words, and you may delete them tomorrow, but they get they etch away at the writer’s block, get you thinking and brainstorming, and keep your head in the book. I typically find that if I sit down just to get my 100 words in for the day, I end up writing a page or tweaking something that wasn’t working yesterday and then jotting down some ideas for tomorrow’s hundred words.
I don’t typically have trouble with writer’s block in the way that I imagine most people do. I seem to have more trouble trying to find the words to relate the ideas I have in my head. Some days nothing seems right, and I could sit for hours working on a few paragraphs, tweaking them over and over. I have learned to move on and to come back later and give editing a shot with fresh eyes. Now I may end up fresh-eyeing it five times, but eventually, I end up with something that I think works. And while my brain has slowly been working through that scene on its own, I’ve moved on to new scenes and made some good progress.
I don’t know if this helps anyone or not, but this is how I do it.
03/08/2010 at 6:14 pm
That's how it works for me too…where I have a hard time getting the right words for what I want to say. I did the 100 words a day thing for a while but when I missed one day, it kind of killed the momentum. I really need to start that back up again.
03/09/2010 at 3:32 am
I thought maybe this post was going to be about weather, because that's how the weather just happened to turn. It was cold and crappy for several days, and then the weather turned amazingly warm and sunny and bright.
I really should do the 100 words a day thing. Instead, I've decided to work on finishing up my make-up work and THEN this summer working more, when I have more time.
03/09/2010 at 5:21 pm
That's my method, too! Except I don't write every day…
03/09/2010 at 7:43 pm
I should start the 100 words a day thing. It is a realistic goal for pretty much any type of a day!