Modern Ink Society
November 12, 2014
FEATURING GUEST Veronica Rossi
Working Through Writer’s Block
Welcome to the ninth session of
THE MODERN INK SOCIETY!
“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’”
— Maya Angelou
Introducing Veronica Rossi!
“First of all, thank you Colleen for inviting me to the blog today! It’s lovely to be here. One of topics writers discuss fairly commonly is working through writing blocks. I had to do this a number of times while I was writing the UNDER THE NEVER SKY series, to varying degrees. At first, it worried me but I learned that being “stuck” is just a normal part of the writing process.
Here are some tips I developed to work through those roadblocks. I hope they help those of you who are writers out there:
Throw it in reverse – Usually when the writing is slow (or stagnant) for me, it’s because I’ve 1) made a misstep somewhere along the process and landed in a plot dead-end, or 2) haven’t done enough research or planning ahead of time and have fallen into a rut.
To get out of the first situation, I return to earlier chapters and back the story up to the point where things began to feel wobbly. One of the benefits of having had to rewrite my novels over and over, and having thrown out hundreds of pages in the revision process, is that I’m not afraid of tossing material. Really, I’m pretty fearless about it most of the time. All I need is a plan of action–and identifying that wrong turn is the first step in moving in the right direction again.
To deal with the second instance, the story rut, which is different than the dead-end because it’s motivational, not executional, I look at early sources of inspiration, which can be reinvigorating and give me just the boost I need in order to keep pushing ahead.
For me, this can be reading, looking at photos, listening to music. Anything that stokes my imagination. Sometimes you have to go backward before you can go forward.
Throw it in neutral – There are times that a story will stall because I’m just plain burned out. When that happens, it’s time to fill up the creative tank by getting away from the computer and doing something fun. Going to movie, having lunch with a friend—you name it. As long as it’s a diversion, it’s good. The idea here being that sometimes writing is the worst thing you can do for your writing. Makes sense, right? Trust me, there are times it’s the truth.
That said, stepping away from the work shouldn’t be an avoidance tactic. Writing is hard work and there’s no getting around that. But, if you spend many hours a day at the computer like I do, a personal health outing here and there is beneficial and necessary.
Throw it in 4WD – My favorite gear. The one I use most often, too. This is just good old fashioned grit, my friends. How do you push through? Well, you tuck your chin and you push through.
Writing is hard work—that deserves stating twice. If you want to become a published writer, it’s not only about maximum effort, it’s about stamina. Tenacity. Passion. It’s about wanting it so badly that all the crazy setbacks and highs and lows in the journey won’t stop you.
For specific tools to help motivate you, check out www.yamuses.blogspot.com. We have a tab over there just for inspiration.
In closing, do whatever you need to do to push through, yes, but more importantly, remember to enjoy the journey! Writing is its own reward.”
A huge thanks to Veronica and for her GREAT advice on working through writer’s block. For all of you who are aspiring authors, a great source of inspiration can be those writers who have paved the path for us. Their experiences bring great insight and wisdom and can help us along on our journey of writing.
If you haven’t checked Veronica out, you can visit her website at www.veronicarossi.com.
Also, for anyone who wants to join us, you can participate in Colleen Houck’s Online Book Club! Simply go and get your hands on this book and if you’ve already read it then awesome! You can start leaving your questions right away (but don’t share spoilers just yet).
For fun there will be a GIVEAWAY during the live chat! Colleen will be choosing one lucky participant on the live chat to win at least one (but up to all three) of Veronica’s UNDER THE NEVER SKY trilogy!! You won’t want to miss this one!
~ Till Next time,
Linda Louise Lotti
This entry was posted in Featuring Authors, The Modern Ink Society, Writing Advice.
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