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As many authors
know, writer's block is no day at the beach. Karen Wiesner gives us some
practical tips on how to conquer that little demon called writer's block.
Angel
VS. Devil: How To Vanquish Writer's Block
Karen Wiesner
I imagine inspiration
as an angelic muse on one shoulder while writer's block is the devilish
muse weighing down the other shoulder. Following are some of the excuses
the devil-muse will give you to deceive yourself:
- I just can't write
(and I don't know why).
- I have no inspiration/encouragement/ideas.
- The blank page/screen intimidates me.
- Everything I write is drivel. I'd rather write nothing at all than write
drivel.
- I have no time, and when I have time I have no energy.
- I'm dry/stuck/burned out. (Sounds like a Thanksgiving turkey, Winnie the
Pooh, and a race car.)
- My characters just aren't cooperating. (Having a scapegoat is good!)
- I've painted myself into a corner.
- I'm not in the mood.
What is it that sets
the devil-muse on a rampage to discourage?
Pressure to be brilliant
on the first try. Harold Robbins is probably the only writer to ever claim
he never gets writer's block. Maybe his muse performs cruel and unusual
torture on him if he doesn't create. Maybe he knows or has something the
rest of us don't. What does Robbins have that "we of the hundred excuses"
don't? Probably discipline.
Every word you write
doesn't have to be brilliant. That's one of the first hurdles a new writer
has to jump. The most talented, successful writers have written works they're
so embarrassed of that crumpling the work and tossing it does little to
erase the humiliation. Only a bonfire will do to thoroughly destroy it!
Yet that poor example is exactly what gets us "over the hurdles." It's a
shining example of discipline.
The pressure we put on
ourselves to be brilliant the first time out is enough to render anyone
impotent. Lifting that pressure frees creativity. Unless a harbinger of
doom lurks nearby, there's no reason to let the pressure squelch your creativity.
Every word doesn't have to be a polished gem.
Now I'm not encouraging
anyone to submit anything less than the best it can be. We're talking first
draft here. A first draft is where the plot is established from beginning
to end. That's the most important part. Your work might be perfectly worded,
but no one wants to read 400 pages of brilliant words with no direction.
Once the first draft is finished and all the pieces of the puzzle are in
place, you'll know what's right and what's wrong.
Now is the time to polish
those gems. Remember, discipline got you this far; talent will bring out
the luster.
Pressure to get it done.
One day you say to yourself "I'm going to write a 100,000 word book in two
months" -- never mind that the last book of the same size took you a year.
Well, that's all the incentive the devil-muse needs to move in and start
disheartening. Nothing smothers the joy of writing as much as thinking "I
have to finish this book!" A more encouraging approach is to tell yourself
"I'll finish this page, one word at a time, in the realistic time frame
I've set."
It's good to set goals
and challenge yourself. But don't sacrifice quality for speed. Unless you're
working on a tight deadline, write at your own pace and push yourself a
little beyond what you think you can do. When your manuscript is finished,
when you're sure this is your best work ever, when your confidence is bursting
at the seams send it out.
Pressure to keep up with
the Joneses. All your friends are winning contests, getting published, selling
2+ books on proposal, getting rave reviews. Be happy for them. Emulate their
discipline and dedication. But don't -- DO NOT! -- compete with them. Maybe
they've been writing longer than you; maybe they were in the right place
at the right time; maybe they're better writers than you (this is when your
angel-muse enters and insists that it's not true.) But you are not your
friends and your friends are not you. Every dog has her day, you tell yourself.
Mine's just taking a little longer.
Concentrate on yourself.
Published/multi-published authors didn't get that way by looking over someone
else's shoulder and mourning "Why are they more successful than me? What's
wrong with me?" Nothing is wrong with you. Just keep focused on your own
work and strive for personal success.
If the above pressures
have your devil-muse convincing you that you shouldn't be writing, discipline
and realistic expectations should convince your angel-muse to fight back
with these cheers:
- You can write because
there's no pressure or unrealistic expectations.
- You need discipline more than inspiration. Once you sit down and plow
ahead,
encouragement and ideas will come to you.
- That blank page/screen can be vanquished with words. The words don't have
to be perfect -- this is a first draft.
- So you're writing drivel? At least you're writing and getting down the
plot. Once the manuscript is polished, you can throw that first draft into
the bonfire with smug satisfaction.
- You have no time? Nice try! What about that hour you spend "unwinding"
in front of the TV? No energy? You don't need to bounce off the wall to
get a few pages down.
- You're dry/stuck/burned out? Re-think the plot. Is it strong enough? Work
on a different segment of the story. Take a break. Give yourself a few days
to recover. Then do it! No more excuses.
- Who's writing this, you or your characters? If the characters are rebelling
because they've forgotten who's the boss, take back control and do whatever's
best for the direction of the story.
- Painted yourself into a corner? So walk out it! What's the worst that
can happen? You get purple feet and have to start over? At least this time
you'll know which direction leads to a dead end.
- Some very pleasurable experiences can occur when you do something you
think you're not in the mood to do.
Remember, I'm your angel-muse.
I'm stronger than that other one. And you believe in me. Otherwise you'd
have bailed out long ago.
Remember that one hand
washes the other. I can't help you if you don't work with me. Remember that
you're talented. You have to believe in yourself if anyone else is going
to.
Most of all, remember
that it'll be worth it in the end. You'll have fulfilled your dream. You'll
have written a book. You'll have created your very own work of art!
. . . . . . . .
Karen Wiesner, named
a "leading romance writer" by The Writer Magazine, is the best-selling author
of the Gypsy Road Series, the Angelfire Trilogy, Dare to Love Series as
well as upcoming Wounded Warriors Series (coming 2002) from Hard Shell Word
Factory http://www.hardshell.com.
Her fiction novels from Hard Shell have been nominated for Romantic Times'
1999 E-Book of the Year, the Frankfurt Award and multiple Eppie's. In Fall
2001, Hard Shell Word Factory published ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING Q&A, the compilation
of Karen's now-defunct Inkspot column. The book includes bonus columns never
previously released.
Karen is also the author
of ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING The Definitive Guide {The Most Complete Reference
to Non-Subsidy E-Publishing}, a bestselling, Frankfurt nominated writer's
reference. The Guide was a finalist in the 1999 EPPIE and won the 2000 EPPIE
for Best Non-fiction. The 2001 Edition is published by Avid Press, LLC http://www.avidpress.com,
is excerpted in the 2001 Writers Digest Novel & Short Story Market and made
the Inscriptions Books of the Year list http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/BOTY.html.
A FREE preview (zipped HTML format) of the Guide is available by sending
an e-mail to kwiesner@cuttingedge.net
with "EPTDG Preview" in the subject line.
Avid Press is the publisher
of Karen's first paranormal romance, SWEET DREAMS, which was a Reviewers'
Top Pick for 2000 http://www.ebookconnections.com/Eclectic%20Reader/reviewers'_2000_picks.htm,
received a coveted 4 1/2 star Top Pick review from Romantic Times Magazine
and is a finalist in the prestigious 2001 Daphne du Maurier Award http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org.
Karen won the 2000 Inscriptions
Engraver Award http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/Engravers.html
for best online columnist, the Year 2000 for eXcellence in E-publishing
Award: E-author from ebookadvisor and was a recipient of The Simply Charming
Award for outstanding promotion of e-books. She was also nominated for the
2000 EPIC Florence Moyer Service Award.
Upcoming releases for
Karen include: a book of poetry, titled Soul Bleeds The Dark Poetry and
Other Wanderings of K.S. Wiesner (Atlantic Bridge Publishing http://www.atlanticbridge.net,
July 2001), the 2001 edition of the Guide (Avid Press, July 2001), another
non-fiction/writer's reference titled THE PRODUCTIVE WRITER {or how to avoid
carpal tunnel with all those revisions} (Avid Press, LLC, Late 2001), a
children's story written with Linda Jablonicky, called THE CODY KNOWS CHRONICLES
(CrossroadsPub.com, Late 2002), as well as the first book of the Wounded
Warriors Series, RELUCTANT HEARTS (Hard Shell Word Factory, Early 2002.)
Projects in the works
for Karen: a mainstream romantic suspense called NO ORDINARY LOVE, the second
book of the Wounded Warriors Series-WAITING FOR AN ECLIPSE, as well as a
psychological thriller written with author Christine Spindler http://www.christinespindler.com
titled DEGREES OF SEPARATION.
For more information
about Karen and her work, visit her web site at http://karenwiesner.hypermart.net.
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