Monday, June 22, 2009

10 Ways to Beat Writer's Block

The blank page is an ominous thing for almost any writer. Writer's block is one of the great obstacles that we must overcome to finish the story that has been plaguing our soul for weeks, months or even years. As an experienced writer and author, I have developed a few ways to beat writer's block that I would like to share with you.

Take a break from your writing to try out one or two ideas listed below.

1) Go to the mall or local cafe'. People watch. Look for the way people move, interact, what type of clothes they have on. The sky's the limit.

2) Rent a movie in the genre that you're writing and study the storyline, characters, setting and any other ways to pick it apart and break it down.

3) Exercise! Take a walk, go to the gym, check out a yoga class. Do anything to get the blood moving and clear your mind.

4) Throw your characters into a weird scenario. Pretend one of them is an alien or a robot, send them on a ghost hunt, give one of them a sordid past. Be silly for a while.

5) Spend time on another story idea. Do you have an idea for a character or separate story that has been bugging you? Use this time to jot down notes on the idea. Sometimes a "change of scenery" is all you need to get a fresh look at your original story.

6) Play with your kids or your significant other.

7) Try some free thinking. Pick a starting word and then write down anything that pops into your head related or unrelated to that word.

Example: starting word: detective:
Case, private eye, murder, mystery, intrigue, suspense, scared, shadows, ghosts, being hunted, Sherlock Holmes, England, carriages, castles

8) Write what you do know. It doesn't have to be final draft ready or even coherent sentences. Just jot down what you want the reader to know and move on to the next part of the story.

9) Create an outline. If you're not sure where your story is going or how to get from point A to point B then create a basic outline. Write down the different scenes that you want to incorporate into the final story and arrange them from beginning to end.

10) Look at pictures or people from magazines, movies, books or even the internet. Try to find out what is special about these things. No. Don't do research. Use your imagination.

1 comment:

william2233 said...

Nice site, from a children author