Tag: writer’s block

To-Write or Not-To-Write

Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

Every writer I know has trouble writing. – Joseph Heller

I never thought I’d experienced writer’s block, assumed it meant you couldn’t think of anything to write. For me, there was always something flowing out my pen, even if it wasn’t great literature. One sunny day this summer, I was procrastinating on my writing and picked up a book I’d been gifted: Write. 10 Days to overcome Writer’s Block. Period, by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D.

I quickly learned what I thought of as “resistance to writing” was in fact WRITER’S BLOCK!!! Who was I kidding? I was constantly fighting writer’s block. There are many real things to keep us from writing: day jobs, kids, partners, parents, social obligations. But the real demons can often be found in our own heads.

We dream of having a block of fully un-interrupted time where we are immersed in our writing and hours go by without our noticing. Or anyone interrupting. We are able to achieve the illusive “creative flow”. But the reality is, though we may have those days from time-to-time, most of our writing happens between things.

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Writer’s Block–Actually Procrastination?

Donna Judy Curtin Leave a comment

What am I going to write about?

What, What, What?

Open Twitter. Find a thread where an unknowing and naïve person says to a writer,

Writing a book must be so easy!

Bark out loud in shock! Cover mouth because I will wake the kids and the husband who is working nights and then they will invade my space and I will get absolutely nothing done. Revel in liking every single response from all the writers who responded back with hilarious, shocked, pissed off gifs. I love twitter. And there goes another half hour.

Not only do I have a novel to complete drafting—I am currently taking a course through the Writer’s Digest University and my next assignment is due in less than 24 hours, my author website needs updating, the bookkeeper is waiting for our farm books, I still haven’t unpacked the kids back packs from summer camp, there are half completed renovations in the back yard, the barn chores need completing, fur balls, laundry heaps and dirty dishes are threatening to mutiny all over my house, bills need paying, I promised myself I was going to submit a blog to Andy Rourke’s website and next weekend is the Muskoka Novel Marathon wrap up and I still haven’t read the books I bought from the other authors this summer and THIS BLOG IS DUE.

How?

How do I waste so much time? I know it’s a talent, but why do I have to be so darn good at it?

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My Life As A Plantster!

Tracey Richardson Leave a comment

For most of my novel writing career, I’ve been a Plotter. I would write pages and pages of notes before I started writing a novel—mostly to do with plot, but also to do with character development. It was my safety net, and I would not start my novel until I was sure I’d thought out every twist and turn (nuanced or obvious) and knew everything there was to know about my characters.

I’m happy to report that, more than a dozen published novels later, I’ve evolved into a Plantster. Which, for those of you who aren’t familiar with these terms, a Pantster is someone who writes by the seat of their pants without a detailed plan. A Plantster is a hybrid between a Plotter and a Pantster.

Now when I start a novel I only have a couple of pages of notes, and they’re more of a guideline rather than rules. I leave myself lots of room to play around, and I’m loving it. Read more