Thursday, February 24, 2011

Write On


Someone asked me how my writing was coming along, and I gleefully told them I'd started a new novel, despite the fact that i have two others completed and a bunch of others half finished.

Is that Writer's Block? Pushing aside incomplete projects to just jump into another one? Well, if so, it's not one usually described by most advice lists that suggest one make a regular schedule.

Diving into Every Time I Think of You is definitely a successful version of the above linked list's #7:

Work on More Than One Project at a Time.
Some writers find it helpful to switch back and forth from one project to another. Whether this minimizes fear or boredom, or both, it seems to prevent writer's block for many people.

So, I guess I got that one down!

Here's a funny list of wacky things to do. I've tried them all, and they work. So does housecleaning, taking a walk around the block, and withholding treats like ice cream or a movie until after you've cranked out 1,000 words.

Believe me, few things are as inspirational as an unopened pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream sitting in the freezer.

But my favorite in the above linked list is:

"Talk to a monkey - Explain what you’re really trying to say to a stuffed animal or cardboard cutout."

Read the book and you'll get that reference!