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Friday, June 24, 2016

Stuck: Writing It Out

If you've talked about writing on your blogs in the last couple months, you may have gotten a whiny comment from me about how my writing is not going. I may have mentioned chapter 20. Or I may have said something about "if I ever finish..."

I've been stuck. Since around the beginning of April. And now it's time to get unstuck.

As I was sort of sketching out this week of blog posts, I had it in my head that by Friday I'd be able to say that I was once again writing. But, things didn't quite work out that way.

via GIPHY

But such is life, right?

So, maybe this weekend I'll pull out my WBW file and just see what I can do...

What? You don't know what a WBW file is?

WBW stands for Writer's Block Workshop. It's a thing I started years ago for days when I wanted to write, but for one reason or another, I didn't have anything to write. It's where I whine about how I don't know what to do.

I moan about characters. Plot. Things that are not working. Or things I want to be writing. I just write out what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling.

The funny thing is, once I give myself permission to just write about the things that aren't working, they suddenly do.

via GIPHY

It's just a matter of sitting down and starting. Again.

Have you got any good tricks to get you started?

5 comments:

M.J. Fifield said...

Love that first gif!

When I get desperate to get un-stuck, I just pick a scene I want to work on and pick a starting point and start writing. It doesn't matter if what I'm writing has all the sophistication of a Dick and Jane novel. I'm writing, and it'll lead to something better (in theory, anyway) in the next round.

Liz A. said...

I like that, MJ.

Darla M Sands said...

Very good advice. :) Now I just need to take it and quite making excuses.

Unknown said...

I'm going through something similar. I have such a good story going and I love the characters and I know where I need to go but I just can't get over this hump. It is extremely frustrating.

@Kathleen01930 Blog

mshatch said...

Sometimes reading from the beginning again will help me, sometimes just re-reading the last chapter or two. Or I'll start asking my characters questions, begin the synopsis, or even the query letter. And if I'm really stuck I give myself permission to write whatever because it all counts as practice in the end.