Writer's block
I would like to say that I never, ever get writer's block. The truth is that I don't get it because unless I can really focus on the work, I simply refuse to start. Is this a bad habit? Absolutely!
There are probably hundreds of ways to get over writer's block. There are classes offered on how to write your novel in thirty days and I've even seen one that suggested you could finish in a weekend. I disagree with the "sit down and force the words onto the page" philosophy - to a degree. I have found that if I schedule the time and make the commitment to work then the words do come. Not all of them are the best but at least I am putting them on the page. Later on I can go back and polish the prose but at the minimum getting something down is a good start.
Unfortunately for me I am sometimes the most creative at midnight or very early in the morning while I'm still partially asleep. I have written more of my novel by staying up into the wee hours of the morning than I have by sitting down at 3 in the afternoon. Maybe it's because there are too many other distractions at 3 PM versus 3 AM. At 3 AM I'm the only one awake in the house, even the kitties are snoring. But at 3 PM there is dinner to consider and the gym calling to me to work off the pizza I ate the night before. There are other work commitments to wrap up and phone calls to make.
Similarly if I don't get out of bed when the early morning words are tossing and turning in my head, then they won't be captured on page either. If I wait until daylight then once again there are a million other things I could or should be doing. Of course, the issue of prioritizing is for another blog entirely.
Leslie
There are probably hundreds of ways to get over writer's block. There are classes offered on how to write your novel in thirty days and I've even seen one that suggested you could finish in a weekend. I disagree with the "sit down and force the words onto the page" philosophy - to a degree. I have found that if I schedule the time and make the commitment to work then the words do come. Not all of them are the best but at least I am putting them on the page. Later on I can go back and polish the prose but at the minimum getting something down is a good start.
Unfortunately for me I am sometimes the most creative at midnight or very early in the morning while I'm still partially asleep. I have written more of my novel by staying up into the wee hours of the morning than I have by sitting down at 3 in the afternoon. Maybe it's because there are too many other distractions at 3 PM versus 3 AM. At 3 AM I'm the only one awake in the house, even the kitties are snoring. But at 3 PM there is dinner to consider and the gym calling to me to work off the pizza I ate the night before. There are other work commitments to wrap up and phone calls to make.
Similarly if I don't get out of bed when the early morning words are tossing and turning in my head, then they won't be captured on page either. If I wait until daylight then once again there are a million other things I could or should be doing. Of course, the issue of prioritizing is for another blog entirely.
Leslie
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