Cure the Writer’s Block

I’ve managed to spend my day wasting time so that I could avoid writing. You know how it is, you try to look like you’re really doing something useful toward your writing. You’ve done it too. Right?

It’s that dreaded writer’s block. I know my character, I know what I want to happen, but it just all seems so flat. So I’ve been web surfing on the subject.

One of the suggestions I saw was to have a regular writer’s routine. It can be a set amount of word count to write in a day, or it can even be just a regular time to set down and write. Do you like to listen to music while you write? Or do you like total quiet? Me – I usually have the TV on for background noise. Especially since my computer is in the living room. I’m use to hearing it. Of course then I run the risk of wanting to watch what’s on. Do you keep snacks handy? Or a drink? The idea is to have a set of circumstances that tells your brain that its time to write when you do this routine. Kind of like kids with bedtime.

Did you do enough planning? Do you have an outline or a basic plot already in mind? Sometimes we don’t really know where it is that we want to go. So we get stuck. Here is a link that is great with the brainstorming aspect: Brainstorming the Snowflake Method

You can also just write. Don’t worry about whether its good writing or bad at this point. You can edit later. Especially for the first draft, just get the story down. This is a good time to free write whatever comes into your mind. You may find that your character has something to show you that you didn’t know.

Try coming at the piece from a different angle. That’s what I’m going to do. I realized that I feel like my writing is flat because I haven’t found a way to make the plot more personal for my character. He needs to solve the murder not because it’s his job, but because he has a NEED to. So, I’m taking some scenes and writing them in first person from his point of view to get into his head more. To see what he has to say about it. If you’re having trouble with the beginning, write the end. Or something from in the middle.

Sometimes we can all use a jump start. You may want to try a writer’s prompt. Writer’s Digest Prompts  or Creative Writing Prompts

This website has a lot of suggestions to get your mind stimulated. hack-your-way-out-of-writers-block

 This one is fantastic. It has a lot of interactive things to get you going. It even has a name generator that can be broken down by race or even religious roots. Language is a virus 

So lets get writing. Especailly me.