Friday, February 28, 2014

What Are Some Things You Do To Combat Writer's Block?

Alright, so what is my Questions & Quandries series about? Exactly what it says. You ask me a question either here or on Facebook, and I answer it (one per week). Something along those lines. Fun, right?

So one of my friends asked me about writer's block and how I get rid of it.

And the answer is . . . *drum roll*

I really hope you're not holding your breath.

The thing is, writer's block is different for everyone. Some don't believe it exists, and that's fine with me, but sometimes I just get to this point where I'm in front of my laptop, suddenly in the middle of the scene and either my fingers or my brain just says: no.

So I watch a movie, or put on the TV, or change the music (remember my post on music earlier this week?). These are usually more efforts of procrastination, though. When I'm really serious about beating my writer's block, I'll scroll up a few pages, or to the beginning of the scene and re-read it. More often than not this question will flit through my head: where did I go wrong?

I'm an avid believer in thinking that characters drive the story. So if I suddenly can't figure out what to do next, or if it just feels wrong to keep going in the same direction, I like to think about when I started feeling like that and maybe see if a different choice can be made.

So Character X turned left. What if they turned right, instead? What if Character Y joined them instead of Z?

But like I said, it's different for everyone. Consider taking a break, resting your eyes. Read a book for awhile, or go for a walk, grab a snack or a cup of coffee. Sometimes just removing yourself from your work for a few minutes or an hour can help you feel refreshed and ready to tackle the problem anew.

Stay Crazy,

Rae

Thoughts or Questions? Let me know what you think!

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