Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! You can visit the Home Page HERE.
Today I want to talk about getting stuck, or as some writer's call it, writer's block. I originally was going to analyze the process of how you get stuck, but I figure that as writers, you already know that part. What you'd like to hear are ideas and ways on how to get out of the mud and get un-stuck. No one likes to sit spinning your wheels, digging deeper and deeper into the mental muck, so let's talk about getting out of the mire.
What is it that intimidates us most when we are looking at that blank page? Is it laziness, as some suggest? Instead, may I suggest that ordinary fear and severe self judgement might be the real culprits holding you back? Instead of saying I have no inspiration, perhaps you are clamping down on your inspiration while expecting a masterpiece to come from your fingertips? Also, there are those who say that writer's block represents a lack of information. Could you be frustrated because you don't know enough about the scene, the action or the characters?
The best way to throw writer's block off and away is to write. Not to any great ambition, not to the soaring heights of creative genius, but simple and easy writing. Don't expect your rough draft to be perfect, because that's what it is, a rough draft. Pick up your pen and start writing about your characters and what you expect of them. Then, put one in a scene. After that, you'll find that because your expectations were allowable even to the smallest of expectations, you may have the beginnings of a story that you can work on. And you can say to yourself, "No more writer's block!"
I have made it a habit to write something everyday. No matter how much or how little, I write. When I am staring at a blank page and can't think of what to write, I turn it into an exercise. Pick a character and describe him. Then another and a scene. Soon I am writing about that cahracter and forming a whole story in my head. Then I can outline the story and fill in the details as I go. Sometimes it feels as if I'm working backwards, but the idea is to come up with a finished end product. To say this is the end. And that;s a wonderful feeling!
"The metamorphosis of an idea into a story has many aspects, some deliberate and some mysterious. "Inspiration" is a real thing, a gift from the subconscious to the conscious mind." ~Janet Burroway
Showing posts with label writing daily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing daily. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
H for Habit
Welcome to the A to Z Challenge! You can visit the Home Page HERE.
Today I'm going to talk about developing a habit. Be it writing every day, exercising, doing your daily chores or all of the above! Whatever your goal, you can develop a definite pattern or habit to make your idea blossom into a reality.
About a year ago, I was writing hit or miss and never really finishing anything I started. Then, I made a commitment to myself that I would write every day without fail, no matter how much or how little I wrote. But it had to be every day. I did not punish myself if I only wrote a few words, but what I found was that as the days flew by, I woke up looking forward to my time at my computer (or on paper) and I began fighting to keeping that time to myself open. It was MY time.
I look back now and see that I watch much less television and I read more and I write usually 1000 words a day. I find that the days I don't get to write (which are very few) I feel like something is missing. I haven't had my daily fix. My habit needs to be satisfied.
How to create your habit: commitment. Start out with a set period of time ... say, six weeks and commit to yourself that you will do your writing or exercise, etc. for that period of time. Check it off on your calendar or make a chart if you need to. And follow through. Even if you can't write 1000 words each day or exercise the entire 30 minutes, do something each day. Be positive and don't beat yourself over the head if you miss one day. Continue on the next day.
You'll find that after two or three weeks your activity will start to feel natural and more a part of your daily routine. It will be a habit. You'll be able to smile and feel better about yourself, because you have succeeded!
Today I'm going to talk about developing a habit. Be it writing every day, exercising, doing your daily chores or all of the above! Whatever your goal, you can develop a definite pattern or habit to make your idea blossom into a reality.
About a year ago, I was writing hit or miss and never really finishing anything I started. Then, I made a commitment to myself that I would write every day without fail, no matter how much or how little I wrote. But it had to be every day. I did not punish myself if I only wrote a few words, but what I found was that as the days flew by, I woke up looking forward to my time at my computer (or on paper) and I began fighting to keeping that time to myself open. It was MY time.
I look back now and see that I watch much less television and I read more and I write usually 1000 words a day. I find that the days I don't get to write (which are very few) I feel like something is missing. I haven't had my daily fix. My habit needs to be satisfied.
How to create your habit: commitment. Start out with a set period of time ... say, six weeks and commit to yourself that you will do your writing or exercise, etc. for that period of time. Check it off on your calendar or make a chart if you need to. And follow through. Even if you can't write 1000 words each day or exercise the entire 30 minutes, do something each day. Be positive and don't beat yourself over the head if you miss one day. Continue on the next day.
You'll find that after two or three weeks your activity will start to feel natural and more a part of your daily routine. It will be a habit. You'll be able to smile and feel better about yourself, because you have succeeded!
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