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How To Conquer Writer's Block
How To Conquer Writer's Block
Beau Albrecht
My father was a high-ranking student radical poobah and still thinks Castro was the bees' knees.
Although I'm technically a red diaper baby, I've rejected all that baloney. I write off-the-wall
fiction, and Righteous Seduction concerns next-generation game. My blog concerns "deplorable"
politics, game, and my writing projects.
•
If you’ve stared at a blank document and the words weren’t flowing, you’re not alone. Mark Twain
sometimes had that experience in front of a typewriter, and Geoffrey Chaucer with an empty
parchment and a quill pen. So then, what do you do if you’re blocked while up against a deadline,
trying to get that business presentation done, finish the doctoral dissertation about vegetable
symbolism in Hamlet, or complete your Jezebel article about how chewing gum contributes to toxic
masculinity?
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Get in the right mindset
Mehr Licht!
So you’re staring at a blank manuscript, and the words aren’t coming off of your fingertips—what
then? Rack your brains and write down a sentence or two. Surely you can think of something—
anything. Then see if you can get something else down. Take it as far as it will go. This is what
shifts the gears. Soon you’ll get a paragraph or two. With luck, words will start flying off your
fingers. Run with it as fast as possible!
Note that it doesn’t have to be in any particular order. Speed is what counts. Don’t dwell too much
on fixing mistakes, or that will knock you back into edit mode. If the ideas start coming faster than
you can get them into sentences, jot down the ideas elsewhere so you can pick up the thread later.
It’s not possible to knock out a novel in one sitting. (With my latest, fourteen chapters and 88K
words certainly didn’t happen overnight!) So eventually you’ll have to stop and pick it up later.
Reigniting the spark is a little easier when you have something in writing already. You can begin in
editing mode, putting things in order, making transitions from one block of finished paragraphs to
the next, and otherwise polishing up what you already wrote. When you start getting thoughts on
where else you want to go with it, then kick into writing mode and start creating new paragraphs.
Sometimes you’ll have to step back to planning mode, if you need to work out something with logic
or direction. That’s fine, but as soon as you come up with some ideas you can write down, then hit
it. If necessary, you can go to another writing project, returning to the first later. If all else fails, then
start doing some boring, repetitive task that you’ve been putting off for a while. Mull over your
ideas while you paint the living room or whatever.
Most importantly, have fun with it!
Don’t miss Beau’s book catalog. Good stuff!
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