Getting Started

You have an idea for that novel or poem or short story or personal experience article, but you can’t seem to get it down on paper. Or you look at what you’ve written and weep because it’s so bad.

So do you give up?

No.

Here is some inspirational advice from experienced writers.

On Writer’s Block

“If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow.” Louis L’ Amour

“Don’t think and then write it down. Think on paper.” Harry Kemelman

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Jack London

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.” Terry Pratchett

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.” Stephen King

“I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” Pearl S. Buck

“Perhaps it would be better not to be a writer, but if you must, then write. If all feels hopeless, if that famous ‘inspiration’ will not come, write. If you are a genius, you’ll make your own rules, but if not – and the odds are against it – go to your desk no matter what your mood, face the icy challenge of the paper – write.” J.B. Priestly

“The way to write is to throw your body at the mark when your arrows are spent.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If the artist works only when he feels like it, he’s not apt to build up much of a body of work. Inspiration far more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of the artist is to listen to the work, and to go where it tells him to go.” Madeline L’Engle

“When the work takes over, then the artist is enabled to get out of the way, not to interfere. When the work takes over, then the artist listens. But before he can listen, paradoxically, he must work.” Madeleine L’Engle

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” E.L. Doctorow

 “I think new writers are too worried that it has all been said before. Sure it has, but not by you.” Asha Dornfest

“To write something you have to risk making a fool of yourself.” Anne Rice

 “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” Margaret Atwood

On Writing the First Draft

“You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” Les Brown

“If you don’t allow yourself the possibility of writing something very, very bad, it would be hard to write something very good.” Steven Galloway

“It is better to write a bad first draft than to write no first draft at all.” Will Shetterly

 “First drafts are for learning what your novel or story is about.” Bernard Malamud

 “I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” Shannon Hale

“Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.” Jane Smiley

So start writing.

4 Creative Ways to Beat Writer's Block

by

Alexis Ulrich

 

            A common bit of advice given to writers is that in order to improve, you should try to write something every day. Oftentimes, that’s easier said than done. Whether you’re writing a blog, a short story, an essay, or something else, your environment is often full of distractions. Maybe you’re distracted by the Internet, maybe you’ve been staring at a blank document for twenty minutes. Maybe you’re just letting your mind wander. No matter what’s stopping you, getting started is the hardest part. My personal experience has told me that sometimes, you just have to break the mold a bit to get started. If nothing’s coming to you for your current project, take a break from the norm for a few minutes and try pushing the limits of your skill to see what you can do.

1.         Write outside your genre: Do you normally write nonfiction? Try writing a short story. Do you write slice of life novels? Try your hand at fantasy. Have you never written a poem? Give it a try. No matter what you normally write, find out what your comfort zone is and push at its edges to write something you’ve never written much of. Practicing by trying something novel can sometimes keep you focused better, in addition to expanding your horizons as to what you can do.

2.         Write something completely insane: Not everything you write has to be shared. Another way to push boundaries is to come up with the wildest idea you can think of and stretch your imagination to its limits.  After all, one of the best ways to relieve the stress of feeling stuck is to let down your boundaries and make yourself laugh a bit.

3.         Write fanfiction: Fanfiction isn’t just a pastime for teenagers, it’s a genuine way to practice your writing skills with a story you already love as a platform. Take your favorite fictional characters as you know them and put them in a new setting. Not that into fiction? Write a nonfiction parody. Have fun with it, as it’s a great low-pressure way to exercise your creativity when you’re feeling stuck.

4.         Likewise, mess with your own work: If you get stuck in the middle of a piece, go to a separate space and stay on that task, but incorporate some of that wild, mind-wandering creativity into your project. Of course you might not want to keep that in your final draft, but if you let yourself go off on a tangent while keeping the subject matter in mind, you can get all the benefits of my previous suggestions without taking your mind too far off task!

Even if you want to write a bit every day, sometimes you just aren’t feeling it. But if you push your own limits and write outside the box, you can still exercise those writing skills. Take a break from thinking about one thing and try some fun, low-pressure writing activities. You may find that when you get back on task, the ideas flow much more easily.



Winter Block? Some Brain Boosting Tips!

by

Peggy Archer

 

www.peggyarcher.com

 

Why does the new year have to start in winter?! It’s cold outside, at least in northwest Indiana. Your brain seems to want to hibernate with the bears instead of sparking those creative juices. If you’re feeling less motivated this season, here are some suggestions that might help you out of that slump.

Open the curtains and let the sunshine in! Sunlight can increase the body’s production of serotonin, which lifts mood and increases alertness and energy. If it’s gloomy outside, turn on more lights. Make your work space sunnier by choosing bright colors in your room.

Get up from your desk and move around. Take a 5-minute break once an hour and stretch. Walk into another room. Take a brisk walk outside to the mailbox, or go out to feed the birds. Frequent small bursts of physical energy lessen muscle tension, can get you out of a slump and clear your thinking.

Daily exercise, even 15 to 20 minutes a day, gets your blood flowing and increases energy by maintaining good levels of oxygen in your body.

Warm up! Put your hands around a hot cup of cocoa or hot tea. Put on some warm fuzzy socks or a cozy cardigan. Find your comfort level to help you stay focused and motivated.

Find something to laugh about. Laughter stimulates both sides of the brain. Laughing reduces stress hormones, resulting in enhanced attentiveness and brain function.

Keep a bottle of water at your work station and take a drink every now and then. Staying hydrated helps maintain energy. If water is not your thing, drink flavored water or tea. Tea is loaded with antioxidants and provides other health benefits as well.

Make sure you eat breakfast. A cup of coffee just won’t cut it. Whole grains and fruits will do more for you than a quick caffeine or sugar boost that will wear off in a couple of hours, then leave you in a slump.

Eat a snack. A healthy snack every couple of hours can help keep your blood sugar level and your energy up. Try an apple with peanut butter, string cheese, or a cereal bar for a carb-protein boost.

Finally, try something new. According to Gregory Berns, M.D., a neuroscientist at Emory University in Atlanta, when people do something new and different it releases a motivating chemical in your brain that gears you up to do more.

So say good-bye to winter block, and get your energy flowing! 

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resources: RealSimple.com, Webmd.com, Mayoclinic.com, porterhealth.com

 

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NOTE: This post originally appeared on Peggy’s blog (www.peggyarcher.com/blog.htm). IWC thanks her for permission to reprint it.



All I Want for Christmas

by

Judith Lachance-Whitcomb

 

Have you seen my muse?  “What,” you may be wondering, “prompts such a question at the beginning of a blog?”   Well, I guess I’m going through a phase of writer's block.  I’m just not writing.  I’ve made up my mind that I am going to start writing again.  I’ve always been rather bull-headed, and when I make up my mind to do something, I usually get it done.

 

Thinking back to all those things I’ve heard writers do to overcome their blocks, I begin my action plan. Even though a fair amount of the advice often seems to conflict, I will pull out those ideas that work with what I know about myself. The first things are to write every day, have a designated place to write, have my writing tools ready, and be comfortable.

 

Monday:  Go to my office and close the door so my dogs won’t disrupt the flow.  Computer ready – check; notepad and pen for jotting thoughts while writing – check; cup of coffee within reach – check.  Now, write!  An hour later my screen remains blank, my note pad is virgin, and I’m playing with the dogs.  Hmmm, well, maybe tomorrow.

 

Tuesday: Repeat the set-up routine, but a wiser me is going to look around the web to see what I’m doing wrong. I find many sites that let me know about all of the famous writers who faced the same dilemma: Tolstoy, Woolf, Conrad, Hemingway and on and on. Well, bully for them. Obviously they got over it.  Then I land on something I had forgotten about – free writing.  I didn’t do that yesterday.  I’m encouraged because one article inspires me to just start writing on any topic. If it turns out to be drivel, the article assures me that something will come out of it.  Another suggests,  “If you can't think of anything to say, write ‘blah, blah, blah’ over and over.” I know I can do that. I begin. An hour and a half later, my document has one paragraph that basically carps at me for not getting to the file full of papers to be graded.  This enlightened work is followed by three pages filled with various fonts that creatively script “blah, blah, blah.”  My notepad has some interesting doodles and I’ve had way too much coffee.  Okay, Scarlett, think about it tomorrow.

 

Wednesday: Same scenario with the exception that my ulcers have begged me to swap my coffee for milk. I will write today.  Wrong…

 

Thursday:  Kathryn sends an email to remind me that I’m responsible for next week’s blog. Great, what will I write about? Well, why don’t I write about not being able to write?  After all, misery loves company.  Finishing my initial self-serving paragraph forty-five minutes later, I’m done for today. That’s enough.

 

Friday: I read what I wrote yesterday. I hate it. Delete. I’m going to take off Saturday and Sunday. This writing everyday takes a lot of energy.

 

Monday: Must get the blog done. Darn it, I remember that grades are due tomorrow. Sorry, writing, I have at least twenty hours of paper critiques to deal with today. Catch you tomorrow.

 

Tuesday: Today writing time will be devoted to the blog. I pull up my file. What? It’s blank? Oh, right, I deleted it. Now what? Right after I throw my notepad and pen to the floor and am just about to do the same with the computer, I recall a banquet I went to recently. Kate Collins, the prolific writer of the cozy flower shop mystery books, was the speaker. Her talk was a down to earth, engaging, and motivating call to writers to create the writing magic with their fingers. She told us that sometimes she has writer’s block. Her solution is to go to her office (because block or no block you want to continue to write everyday), relax and open herself up to her Muse.  I also remember a Ray Bradbury quote, “I’m not in control of my muse. My muse does all the work.” Okay, Muse, here we go!

 

Revived, I pick up my note pad and pen, open my laptop, take a sip of coffee (sorry ulcers), lean back in my chair, relax my body, and spread open my arms above my head (Kate did that). Okay, Muse, let’s go…(ten minutes later), Hello?...(five minutes after that)…Hey, Muse! My arms go down. My fingers go to the keyboard. Apparently, my Muse doesn’t want to work on the blog.

 

That brings us back to the beginning. Have you seen my Muse? If so, please keep in mind that all I want for Christmas is … my Muse.

 

Merry Holiday Writing!



The Horror of Writer's Block

by

Gordon Stamper, Jr.

 

One of the writing life’s potential horrors is writer’s block.  The departure of the muse, the well running dry, the gaping void of the blank page—all could be used as descriptions for the terrifying affliction.  But this blog entry will leave the land of metaphor and look at two practical reasons for writer’s block, one unavoidable, the other utterly avoidable.

 

Life can silence your voice as a writer.  Illness, whether it is yourself or someone you love, happens.  If you have a career and/or a family to provide for, and you don’t have the luxury of writing for a living, your writing output can be significantly reduced.  If you have children and there is no trust fund to pay for the nanny, you may not be able to crank out that great idea for a novel.

 

Tillie Olsen wrote about this in her excellent nonfiction work Silences.  She was an expert on this subject, being a working class mother, wife, and political activist, and when life’s demands allowed her, an award-winning short story writer.  Olsen posited that talented working class people were burdened by demands of life and the need for income when they wanted to write, particularly women until the later 20^th century.  In her 50s and 60s, she was able to publish more works and eventually become a respected college instructor, but there were decades of gaps between her published works before the 1970s.

 

Then there is “I can’t think of anything to write about.”  This faux affliction is illustrated by Joel and Ethan Coen’s film character Barton Fink.  Assigned to write a screenplay for a “wrestling picture,” Fink is stymied and longs for his more sophisticated New York projects as a playwright.  Fink misses out on many potential sources of inspiration, including a hulking and maniacal traveling salesman who loves wrestling and happens to be Fink’s next door neighbor.

 

When you are a writer, you should be an observer.  Have a dedicated notebook, be it paper or electronic, to jot down bits of inspiration in journal or notation format. How could that nasty exchange between an angry customer and a cashier turn into a potential scene for your story?  As a poet, what kind of impression did the lone crane make on you as it flew over the busy highway? This could serve as that later wellspring of ideas when your imagination is running dry.

 

And when all else fails, try heuristics, writing prompts, and freewriting.  Reporters’ questions can help generate and expand new ideas.  Books such as the excellent Writer’s Block by Jason Rekulak have invaluable prompts to kick start writing, such as creating your own definition of words and composing an expository essay from what is happening in a photograph.  Even the old standby of freewriting can help, tossing away self-correction in favor of creation.

 

An old professor of mine who was also a pen-named romance novelist, Richard Hull, told us the writer’s adage that was passed down to him:  sit down on your butt and write.  When life prevents you from sitting on your butt, it cannot be helped.  But any other writer’s block is curable by a world full of ideas, if you take the time to observe and write about them.  Then writer’s block is not a terror anymore, just a paper tiger.

 

Gordon Stamper, Jr. is an adjunct faculty member of Ivy Tech Gary, limited-term lecturer at Purdue University North Central, a published writer, and moderator of Highland Writers’ Group, which meets in Griffith (Grindhouse Café) and Valparaiso (Blackbird Café) on alternating Saturdays.