May 26, 2011

Wannabe Writers #51 (Writers Block)

Wannabe Writers is my internet writing group. Anyone is welcome to join. It's a place to meet other writers, ask questions, and get feedback. Bascially, my posts are about my current writing progress, my problems, and any questions I need help answering. If you've created a similar post of your own lately, feel free to link in the comments.

Where I am in the writing process: Unpublished!  And still currently speed-writing the first draft of the novel I'm calling ELIXIR.  I reached 36K today!  Yay!

My current problem(s):  Getting over the hump. 
A hump for me is probably what most people call 'writers block'.  Every now and then I'll be writing along--happy as a clam, the ideas flowing--and then bam!  Suddenly out of no where, I get stuck.  Most often it's one line that does it to me.  One little line of dialogue that I just can't seem to perfect.  Nothing sounds right and no matter how hard I try to pull that one little line out of my brain, it won't come.  I can't skip it either; it's driving me crazy.  I stare at the screen and stare at the screen trying to figure out what that one little line should be.  The perfect witty thing to say.  It takes time but eventually something comes to me; I figure out something to write.  And the feeling that comes after, from finally being able to move on, is pretty great.  There are a million of these little humps as you write, some bigger and some smaller, and I guess my only advice is to write through them.  Force yourself to come up with the answer--eventually it will come--it just makes you want to pull your hair out sometimes. 

My question(s) this week: How do you experience writer's block?

3 comments:

Miranda Hardy said...

I know exactly how you feel with the bumps. I'll stop and think about the scene for a few days, playing scenarios over in my head, trying to work out the problem. It helps me to imagine the next path.

Stephanie said...

36K! GO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the block comes, it's best for me to just move on to another scene. Getting active- plugging my iPod into my ears and going for a walk- is the best way for me to figure things out. I don't know if it's the music, or the physical activity, or a combination of the two, but some of my best ideas have come like that. Unfortunately, I don't often get the chance to go walking alone. :(

Athena said...

For me, I'll get to my Word document, all ready to write and. . . Nothing. I'll try and think of something to start the scene, or continue it, but I can't start it well. I'll sit there for forever and ever trying to find the best line to use, but I can never find it. Good luck on getting past!