Writer's Block: Curse or Myth?

Good evening, bloggers! Today's topic is writer's block, the plague to us all. We often blame out lack of a word count for days, weeks, or even months on this little disease. Some people say it's the death of writers while others believe it's only a state of mind.

It can be a lack of inspiration or just a lack of motivation. Personally, you can have no ideas for a certain story you're writing, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have writer's block. If you lack ideas for one story you may very well have a surplus of ideas for another. Or, it can be that you have so many ideas for a story that they get jumbled in your brain and the excess amount of ideas just boggles you and seems too overwhelming to work on.

If you have a plot hole, I see it as more of an obstacle to overcome than a block. A block, to me, sounds permanent, while an obstacle sounds like something to work hard for and achieve. If you have no ideas for it, try working on something else and coming back to it later. I solve many of my plot holes just out of the blue, either getting ideas from school assignments or conversations with friends or during a shower. Inspiration just hits you like an oncoming train sometimes--fast, unexpected, and hard.

One thing I'm sure to do is that, no matter what time it is or where I am, I write down any ideas I have. Even though an idea might seem like nothing down, it will someday grow. You can be pondering over it later and it can turn into a full-fledged novel idea. At 3am when I awake from a dream, I always groan and get up to turn on a light to write down my story idea from my dream. If I'm in school I write it on the corner of my notes to remember it.

If you just get lazy, that's your own fault. Or if you're just so busy that you find it hard to write, start off small with a prompt or a poem. Try a short story or something else before going back to your work in progress. Perhaps your WIP is boring you and you need to spice it up. If it seems like you have such a long way to go, think of it in sections and just remember how happy and accomplished you'll feel when it's done.

Sometimes writer's block is just a menace that prevents the right words from being released from your ballpoint pen. If you can't get the words out, try an exercise to get the juices flowing, like being really descriptive with something (look at an object and describe it in great detail with all five senses). Learning some new vocab can help too; I get Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. If I just need to reconnect with my characters, I write a short scene or some drabble with them. Sometimes I even wind up altering them and inserting them into my story!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil..

Question: Do you believe in writer's block? Do you suffer from it often?

Procrastination & Writer's Block

Welcome to the first meeting of Procrastinators Anonymous.

Just kidding. Though if that was a real group, pretty much all of us would have to join.

Procrastination. Just combining that word with "writing" makes me want to cringe, since I'm guilty of neglecting my writing and watching it slowly descend to the bottom of my priorities list. I procrastinate on things I enjoy and the thing I hate wind up being at the top of my to-do list. But that's life, isn't it? School, work, sports, clubs. They fill up our lives, defining them, but not allowing us to do what we love most.

Many claim that writer's block has prevented them from writing. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I don't think writer's block should stop you from writing at all. If I get stuck on a story and can't think of what to do next, I simply move on to something else. I have so many ideas floating around in my head, so when I am stuck with one idea, I pluck the next one out. The theory of writer's block shouldn't keep you from something you enjoy. Laryngitis can keep a singer from singing, but writer's block can't keep a writer from writing. You will not get worse if you write with writer's block. In fact, for me, writing when I have writer's block helps me get rid of it. Sometimes, if you're procrastinating writing or just have writer's block, try a small prompt to get your juices flowing.

Writing prompts to wake your muse:

1) Put on a song you like. Really listen to the lyrics and mood of the song. Then begin to write. Don't be distracted with grammar. Just write. You can stop when the song is over and choose another one to put on, or you can continue on. Sometimes putting the song that really inspires you on replay helps.

2) Pick an object, any at all. If you are at a loss, pick something around the room. Now write a short story (not long, as long as you want to make it) and make that object central to the story line.

3) Write about something that has happened to you and either write about your experience in depth or alter it and make it a work of fiction. It could be from a heated argument to a first kiss. Make it as long as you want.

4) Go onto a quote site such as Quoteland and pick any quote that appeals to you. Then write about whatever comes to your mind.

I hope this helped awake your muse! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them here or email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: How do you awake your muse? If you use a prompt, which ones do you enjoy most?