Pep Talk Week #4: The Curse of Writer’s Block

It’s week four of JuNoWriMo, one of the most challenging weeks. By now you may be worn thin, your story may have lost its shine, or you may have run out of ideas. It’s common for me to hit a wall somewhere beyond the middle of my novels. But what do you do when you just feel stuck?

In On Writing, Stephen King provides a chest full of gold nuggets – encouragement, inspiration, solutions to problems every writer faces. These tips may be the vital pieces you need to break through and finish JuNoWriMo. Just in case you don’t have time to read it right now, I’m going to share one of the ways King’s wisdom has helped me.

The Curse of Writer’s Block

What is writer’s block? It depends on who you ask. The causes are even more varied, especially because it can attack all writers differently.

In my personal experience, I’ve found that writer’s block often is this: the excuse not to write. That may sound harsh, but I’m speaking for myself here. Sure, we all get stuck sometimes. I’ve had my share of big, gaping plot holes to hurdle. I’ve also experienced times of creative funk when I had absolutely no motivation to work. It’s miserable. But often what we call “writer’s block” is nothing more than a lack of tenacity – not being willing to stick with it and write through the block.

If you can figure out what’s blocking you, it makes it easier to push past it. Personally, when I get stuck, it’s usually because I don’t know what happens next in the story.

Fighting Bad with Worse

In On Writing, King made an excellent point about his own experiences with writer’s block. He said often the best solution is to add a new problem. In other words, let tragedy strike your poor, unsuspecting characters. The moment I heard that, I began analyzing periods in my work when writing was a struggle. I found that most of them were indeed at a point in the story where there was more apathy than disaster, more dull tranquility than teeth-gritting struggle.

But when I throw adversity at my characters, I instantly have something to write about. A little more self-analysis, and I determined that the times I had beaten writer’s block often happened because I initiated a new dilemma in the plot.

If King hadn’t so plainly stated his solution to writer’s block, I don’t think I would have had the conscious realization on my own. When I got stuck with my story, my gut response was for a solution to get my characters out. It’s the same thing I do in life – looking for the bright side, trying to patch up the bad with the good. But my natural optimism didn’t do my stories any favors. Actually, I’ve come to believe that seeing all the things that can go wrong is an ideal vantage point for a writer. Pessimists rejoice!

So I suppose I’ve switched sides. At least when it comes to writing fiction. I’ve finally learned that the best way to fight writer’s block is to let the plot take a turn for the worse.

Maybe you’re in the same boat?

Double bonus: if your story is nearing the end, it’s the right time for the tension to ramp up anyway. So here’s my final challenge to you for these last few days:

Focus on building in all the bad stuff you can as your characters ride up that coaster’s final, steep hill.

Let’s race to the end!

An author and dabbler in all things creative, Becca J. Campbell loves thinking up stories about supernatural abilities, experimenting with painting techniques, drawing in her sketchbook, and recycling stuff into cool products for her Etsy shop UpCycled Chic By Becca.

Pep Talk Week #3: I’m Talking to US

Week 3: I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to US.

By: Jessica Dragon Cheramie

What?!?! It’s week 3.

Are you kidding me? Time disappears way faster than this stupid coronavirus.

How are your words looking?

I hope you are doing great and words are pouring out of you like a spewing volcano destroying any distractions that dare to brave your path. If this is the case:

STOP RIGHT HERE.

I’m not talking to you. Go write more words. Hehe

I’m talking to you who are still reading because the words aren’t pouring out of you or you are stuck or feel like this challenge is impossible. Actually, no, I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to us.

Can I be honest?

It looks so glamorous on social media, but writing is HARD.

I’m always so pumped and ready on week 1 with my plan I worked on the month before or not, if I’m just winging it. I’ve been doing WriMos for years.

The first two weeks, I sit down to write, listen to my curated playlist to inspire me, and I just write the movie that’s playing in my head.

I’ve been the ones we aren’t talking to right now whose story magically unfolds and words flow like the Mighty Mississippi River. I’ve finished WriMos in crazy fast times. But this isn’t what usually happens. OH NO!

Typically, I’m writing for a while until…WHAM! Brick wall.  This just got real.

Whatever the reason—cruelties of life decide to vomit all over my perfect plans or time just isn’t being kind to me or I can’t figure out why I’m writing this story to begin with and have no idea where to go with it—it happens.

I know this too well. I’m in the trenches with you.

Now, it’s week 3.

Where did that time go? How can I meet my goals now? There’s no point to keep going. I FAILED.

Does this sound familiar? Are you with me?

This happens to me, and I see it happening to others too often. Participation in sprints and in the group ebbs about this time, and it’s time to make a change.

We need to do better. We can do better.

We are NOT quitters. We are finishers.

We are NOT procrastinators. We are time-managing experts. (I’m trying to convince myself on this one.)

We are NOT perfect. We are perfectly imperfect, and we will do this.

We’ll do this by remembering why we want to do this.

We aren’t doing this because we feel like writing 50k words this month. We’re doing this because we want to write a book, and we want to write it in a month.

But let’s be honest again. When the month ends, we’ll still have what we’ve written, and we can still finish this month.

So why do you want to finish this book in this month? What does it mean to you? Make a list and post somewhere as a daily reminder. (Seriously, I’m not going anywhere. You can finish this after.)

I want to finish this book in this month, so I can get to editing next month. Sure, I can continue writing it next month if I don’t finish, but I’m choosing not to make that an option. It’s now or I move on.

Here’s the thing: I’m giving you a deadline. You have 2 weeks.

Two weeks to finish your 50k words.

I’m holding you to this, and I’m holding myself to this. We’re in this together remember.

I trust you that you can do this with me. Can I trust you? (I know we’ve only just met, so I’m banking a lot on you. Don’t let me down.)

But two weeks from now, what do you want to say? That you gave up or that you did it?

Don’t look back on this in a month or a year from now and wish you would have. Do it now.

We aren’t promised tomorrow. If this virus teaches you anything, let it be to spend more time with loved ones and to stop putting your dreams on hold.

Even if you don’t reach the goals, giving up now only gives you what you had. But if you go for this, what can you do?

There’s only one way to find out.

Why do you want this? Will you be a finisher with me?

Two weeks. Just write. NOW.

Jessica Dragon Cheramie is a Young Adult Fantasy author with a love of all things magical, dragons, and her crazy holistic ways.

Pep Talk Week #2: Padding Your Word Count – The Good Way

I hope your writing is right on track, but if you’re a little behind, don’t lose hope yet! There’s still time to pick up that word count and make up whatever ground you still have to cover.

Let’s face it, there are ways to increase your word count that are not so healthy to have as writerly habits. Included in the list of Worst Ways to Pad Word Count are: copying and pasting a block of text multiple times, adding needless obscenities as adjectives before every noun, omitting hyphens, etc.

Padding Your Word Count The Good Way

Last week, Jessica Dragon Cheramie gave some great JuNoWriMo tips. Here are my own strategies to make your JuNoWriMo as wordy as possible (in a good way!):

  1. Outline – Did you neglect to prewrite before June? Has your story arc changed since then? If your story’s began to slide down a slope to who-knows-where, now might be a great time to regain some focus. Type your outline in your novel, and suddenly you’ve added both words and direction.
  2. Add character descriptions – By now you probably know more about your characters than before you began: what they like, what they don’t, and who they want to kill at the moment. Writing a character description will help both your clarity of background info and your word count. If you want to keep things organized, do it in a separate document – remember, you can still count the words since you’re writing them during June.
  1. Write deleted scenes – You know the scenes that won’t make it into the final draft because they don’t advance the plot? How about the ones that happen before your story begins? Just because they don’t happen in the book doesn’t mean writing them won’t help your story. Sometimes allowing yourself the chance to really explore backstory will help to enrich your main story. Remember, you can always delete them (or move them to another file) after JuNoWriMo.
  2. Write another point of view – The story is all about your protagonist, which is where most (if not all) of your points of view should be focused. But writing (or re-writing) a scene from another point of view might be incredibly eye-opening. You may even spark an idea of something you want to change.
  3. Say it another way – Don’t like the last sentence you wrote? Try it again. And again. But don’t erase the previous attempts. They’ll count for you and also give you options when you go back to edit later. You don’t even have to decide which way you want to say it – JuNoWriMo is the perfect opportunity for indecision! Let the words spew forth and reap a boost in your wordcount.
  4. Add sub-plots and tangents – When editing your story later, you’ll whittle away the fluff and the unnecessary plots that muddle up your main story arc. But right now it’s JuNoWriMo! This is the time to get out all your excess ideas. Let your characters roam where they want or navel-gaze for five pages. It’ll only help you get to 50,000 faster.

Remember, write now—edit later.

I hope these ideas help you get past Week Two. Now get back to it. Happy writing!

An author and dabbler in all things creative, Becca J. Campbell loves thinking up stories about supernatural abilities, experimenting with painting techniques, drawing in her sketchbook, and recycling stuff into cool products for her Etsy shop UpCycled Chic By Becca.

Pep Talk Week #1: It’s a New Dawn, and It’s Calling You

Before you read this: For your safety, please wear a face mask and wash your hands. Ha ha. That’s probably getting old, but I had to.

♫ It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Can you hear what I hear?

The rambling of your muse itching to come out to play though you locked her in a box, waiting for June 1st.

Can you feel it?

The excitement bubbling inside, mixing with determination to finally do something normal again.

Most importantly, how are you?

What a crazy few months this has been! Although I told myself at first that I was going to use all that time to write and edit undisturbed, it just wasn’t in me.

I was preoccupied with numbers and the health and well-being of my loved ones. Trying my best to not crumble at times from fear or loss, I turned to different outlets.

My writing goals were replaced with fun family time I wouldn’t have changed for anything, such as “glamping” in the backyard.

But, now that we’ve established some sort of normalcy, my old goals are creeping in, and I’m ready to write and take on a new WriMo challenge.

IT’S JUNOWRIMO TIME!

So, this WriMo might look a little different for you whether your state is still under lockdown or venturing to a new normal, and that’s okay. But here are some ideas on how I’m tackling this JuNoWriMo. Hopefully, it can help you too.

The New Dawn JuNoWriMo:

Here’s how to tackle JuNoWriMo during these crazy times.

  1. Wash your hands. Like we say in the South, “I don’t know what those hands have been touching. Wash your hands.” And don’t forget to sing a 20 second song clip while you do it.
  • Set a timer for 10 minutes. Yeah, this is an old, tried and true WriMo tip that works, but this one has a twist.

The twist: The 1st timer you set for the day, make yourself sit in front of the computer with your word-processor of choice.

If you feel the writing/editing inspiration, go with it. Keep writing. Join a writing sprint.

If after 10 minutes nothing comes, give yourself permission to try again later.

  • Wash your hands.
  • Write bad and be proud of it. There are so many tricks that suggest ways to get more words in, such as write out your character’s whole name in place of he/she/they/I/you.

This is not what I mean. Those tricks make editing extremely tedious, trust me.

When I say write bad, I mean don’t correct your mistakes. Any of them. For example, if you have a new idea for a scene, don’t delete what you’ve written. Rewrite by writing it as an addendum to what you’ve previously written. You may end up liking the other better or be able to use it in another piece or writing.

The twist: Use this the next day as what you read during the 1st timer you write. You can edit it if you wish at this time or just use it to coax your Muse out of hibernation.

  • Wash your hands.
  • Set small goals and hold yourself accountable. It’s not about the 50k words in one month. It’s about the small goals you achieve to get there. How does Miley Cyrus say it? “It’s the Climb.” Managing to get 200 words in 10 minutes is an awesome attainable goal, but once you hit it, set another. 400 words in 10 minutes. Challenging yourself this way builds your word count to that 1667 before you know it. And of course, hold yourself accountable. For instance, report your word count every day on our Twitter feed or FB group.

The twist: Instead of rewards for goals, make consequences. When you don’t have new words to report, what is something you have to do since you didn’t? Maybe yours will be not watching the next episode of Outlander until you hit a goal or not reading another chapter in Sarah J. Maas’s latest book.

For me, knowing I’d have to write ‘I will not talk to my friends during class.’ a hundred times was a much bigger motivator for me not to talk during class than if I got an ice cream for not talking during class.

  • Wash your hands. By now, you’ve probably washed them down to the bone, so go clean the dirt outside.

Then, come back and let’s write, because it’s a new dawn. It’s JUNOWRIMO!

What goals or consequences are you setting for JuNoWriMo?

Stay Happy and Healthy out there.

Jessica Dragon Cheramie is a Young Adult Fantasy author with a love of all things magical, dragons, and her crazy holistic ways.