I had two responses (more than two) to this. One was to (virtually) stop writing new material. The other was to over-edit. It's not the over-editing on the page that is the problem so much as the over-editing inside my head. Going over things too much might suggest a good work ethic (in my own imagination), but it's not always the way to get the best result. I began to lose the bigger picture altogether.
So this is what I've done about it. Yesterday I got up and started writing. I had another thousand words by 9.30 am. Made another cup of coffee. Wrote more words. Today? The same. I'm going to keep writing forward for as long as I can. Let's see where it leads.
So here is this week's tip, for a first draft. If in doubt, forget about that inner critic and simply write more scenes. More chapters. Whether or not you will use these is largely irrelevant. Sometimes the key to writer's block (or writers' block) is to simply write whatever comes to mind. I am repeating myself, but it doesn't matter. I am relinquishing control. Contrary to one (now relatively common) perception, this doesn't necessarily mean opening a vein and bleeding onto the page. Thoughts might, or might not, reflect habitual patterns of belief, or character, but they are, after all, only fleeting electrical impulses, or chemical signals, and they can be changed.
Someone once said to me that you can often only work out what you are thinking when you say it, or write it down. Or maybe the words are a way of making some sort of sense of various physical sensations, impulses and emotions.
Alternatively, what you put on the page can be seen simply as words that can be used to shape a story. This is how I'm thinking about it today. Whatever I produce is material to be mined, whether that material is made up of my actual beliefs, or is a thought experiment, or something that the story suggests because of the decisions already made and what has already been written down. Ultimately, those words don't work for the story can be changed or deleted.
But I'm leaving that for later.
Writing Prompt: Yes, see above... write something new.
Good lecture, Iris! We all reach a point where we feel bogged. It's usually when I know the plot or scene isn't working. Sometimes a couple of days away, or editing, or writing something else instead of the novel, is beneficial. But as you say, it's important to keep writing as often as we can.
ReplyDeleteYou'll get there with your second novel, I'm sure. It's a long road and I'm sure it's just as difficult second time around as the first ...
Thanks Louise. I suppose what I'm calling 'tips' is, to some extent, tracing my own messy process as I bumble through. I'm not convinced that writing has to be invariably enjoyable, but something keeps pushing me to do it in one form or another. And sometimes I really do like it! The novel is the bigger project, but I have continued writing poetry throughout. Just for fun. And the blog.
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