How to Break Writer's Block

If I've ever been asked what inspires me as a writer/blogger, I tell people I have no idea. It could be my subconscious jutting into reality every time I feel the urge to write. Writers normally find inspiration in their own lives, especially through extreme experiences such as nearly dying, or giving birth. Most writers are eccentric, because they've experienced such extreme instances that are so relative to their development; it almost appears that they are indeed different, when really, they tend to be pretty average. To this day, I've written 149 blog posts, nearly one hundred short stories, five manuscripts, one e-book, and I've read over two thousand books. "Inspiration" when used by writers tends to be a psychological feedback to help them become motivated enough to complete a set goal. Most ideas are designed from what you'd expect: an extreme experience like a death in the family, educational background, lifestyle choices, maturation, or even a transitional experience, like a change in religion. For most people, inspiration is easy to discover in one's self, but for others, it requires a muse of sorts. I want to help you discover your own muse, and although every writer is different, every writer needs to use the same tools, and it got me thinking: how can you beat writer's block? Writer's block is something we've all felt before: that dreaded feeling of having the motivation to sit down and pound out ten pages a day, but you literally draw a blank, feeling defeated, even sophomoric. For years, I've suffered from writer's block, and although people can claim to know the secret to defeating writer's block, I've developed a system that not only inspires you to write your next great book/story, I've also figured out how to keep you writing, keeping that motivation working well into the wee hours of the morning. My system will keep you intrigued, without hinderance all the way to 80,000+ words. All writing, even nonfiction, requires an idea that intrigues you, because you have to be hyped about your work. The biggest issue people have with writing is time management, I'll get to that in a bit, because I want you to see that writing requires strong discipline in the guise of fun. After you have your subject/story mapped out (or not, I find mapping out a story that isn't a mystery to be self-defeating.) your best bet is to jump right into work. Never let a fresh idea turn moldy, it sounds difficult, but you'll know if the idea should be junked by the tenth page. Never junk an idea unless it's the worst case scenario. I'll use writing an 80,000 word long book as the prime example of this post, and assume you're typing on a common word processor, at 100 words per minute. That seems low, but it'll be the average. Twenty pages is about average to 10,000 words on most word processors, which means 80,000 words can be up to 180-200 pages. If you can master 10 pages a day, you could finish a full-length novel at a minimum of 32 days, if your wpm (words per minute) is above a hundred words, it could be even faster. True, you're not going to write 10 pages plus a day seven days a week, unless you're Stephen King, then that is child's play. I type about 175-230 wpm, and on a good day, I can nearly reach 250 wpm, so it takes me about three hours non-stop on my best day to type 10 pages. Like a cheetah, I tend to type very fast, and when I'm in my groove, I make it look like it's easy, but I also gas out in spurts. Now that we have mapped out the mathematics of typing, let's put that to work without worrying about that pesky thing called writer's block. One last thing: if you're serious about publication, 80,000 words is the golden number. Writing is an art, and a business, you will fail more often then you will succeed. See failure as a learning curve, don't take it as a personal insult. I'm about to give you the best advice I can, because I think you can benefit from my mistakes. and my successes. Here's the scenario: you're about to write the next best mainstream novel, you looked into reasonable publishers that are just up your alley: they deal in your writing style, genre, whatever your niche is, and they love up-and-coming writers. You've honed your craft through years of writing, reading, finding your groove,,and you believe you're ready for the big time. Writing is a skill that you not only learn, but are practically born with, not everyone can write, most barely understand the business other than books are fun to read. You sit down to type at your computer/laptop/tablet, and you stare at the most terrifying thing any writer could imagine: the Blank Page of Infinity. That blank page can be a motivation killer, but it's just a psych out, don't pay it any mind. Look through that eternal whiteness, and see the potential of the digital page. Getting past the blankness is one of the most difficult tasks of writing, but it works, it it's comes down to the first sentence. The first sentence is the most important part of your book, it is more important than the cover, more important than the last sentence, more important than the first paragraph. Sounds tempting to put all your effort into that first sentence, doesn't it? I find it enticing to make a grandiose statement that showcases my twenty-eight years in an uttering of syllables. The first sentence is crucial, but realize that it's going to stifle you if you only focus on the first page. The first page is always awe-inspiring, but how do you keep excited all the way through to the end? I sound like I'm dancing around here, but I'll give you my best-kept secret: just write, and don't skimp on the dialogue between characters. Most people complain of a lack of decent dialogue, and it gives your work a play style that can set the stage for potential mediums other than a book, i.e., a movie translation. Ten pages a day sounds like a milestone every time you sit down to write, and two words come to mind: carpal tunnel. I've been writing for years, I assure you, my hands are still in great condition, but I've learned to better pace myself. As I said above, 80,000 is the golden mile, but I don't want you to write like a fiend every single day, it's unrealistic, and I believe a better use of your time is developing your characters, discovering your setting, and deciding just how much detail is best for your work. Take a day to reflect on why you wanted to become a writer to begin with, this is best done by ignoring all things writing related. Go for a walk, if that is not possible, go to a spot where you can hear your thoughts flow out with little resistance. If you live in a place like a city, or a crowded suburb, you may not have the luxuries of a more rural area. Perhaps you can go to a park or aye catch a movie. Listen to some music, hell, dance if you want, in the rain if you'd prefer. Find that psychological place where you discover that inner muse. It's simpler than it sounds: just do what you like,,and enjoy yourself for you. Inspiration is all about setting a realistic goal, and have fun, because writing is fun. If you truly have trouble becoming inspired, perhaps it's best to work on a book with someone else, or ghost write for a writer that already has an established record. Again, writing is a business, learn the business, and discover that your talents don't always need to be solely about you. As for timing, very simple: write when you can, and write as often as you choose. Don't force yourself to write, it won't ever work out, and you will wind up eliminating any potential on a project. If you cannot find the time I. Your life to actually sit down and type/write put your project (occasionally I'll write with a pen, just so it doesn't feel alien to me.) then you might want to spend a few days of vacation to either catch up or lay the foundation for your writing. Wake up early, or go to bed late, the former, however seems to be the best option in that scenario. Finally, when it comes to time management, no one is the master of the clock, nobody can decide to magically gain an hour just to get that last chapter visualized and executed. Just do what you can, and soon you'll discover you've actually accomplished something, and you'll be far more grateful for it because it was completed with a full schedule. Now, let's focus on writer's block, and I'll tell you my secrets to defeating writer's block that work nearly every single time. Writing is tough, continuously writing is horrendous, but here are my personal tips to help you break writer's block: 1. Reanalyze the key goals of your work: Have you answered your theme? Have you explained hour messages thoroughly? What have you Fi send, h What haven't you finished yet? How do you feel about your main thematic goals? 2. Re-read what you've already written, read last chapter/page from where you've left off, or fro. Where your block began. 3. Come back anew through diagrams and brainstorms. Do layouts of your characters, plans, and storyline. Map out the story, and figure out where things began to become constipated. 4.Walk-away from the work, and come back after any anxiety or stress has lessened, allowing a bit of eye-rinsing, so you see the work anew. 5. When all-else-fails, scrap the last section, and start again. A word of caution: do not scrap a whole project, only scrap the whole thing as a last resort. 6. Speak out what you plan on doing, reiterate your goals for the next several pages, then see those goals through, listening to what you have to say. Speaking out loud can help clean out a cluttered brain. If possible, record your thoughts, and listen to them, see if they smoke any sense to you, and if-so, follow through with them to the best of your abilities. 7, Remember that you can fix whole sections after the story is written. Second drafts are for finished first drafts. Editing is for editors! Be a writer first, and an editor second! 8. When inspired, tune out the rest of the world, even if it seems impossible. Those twenty minutes of ignorance are well worth the trouble, if it allows for your inspiration to flow uninterrupted. 9a. Reinvigorate your manuscript: remember to always, always take into consideration that you are writing a story, and this requires imagination, experience, research, and equally as important than the rest: skill. If you feel something is going array, re-imagine your work! Rediscover why you began writing in the first place by seeing the story In different perspectives. If the book is mostly finished: think of the personalities of your characters, and how they can become static, rather than stock characters. Add more inspiring dialogue, throw in more descriptive language, and don't be afraid to open a thesaurus. Feel the characters are a bit lacking therein? Use personal experiences to tie into the lives of the characters to give them more dimension. Perhaps you can find a way to tie in a humorous, dramatic, or even traumatic experience so it fits well into the storyline. Don't overreach to find filler for your story! 9b. If you find your research has failed you, or is simply not enough information, then go back to researching! Think about your work, and what information you'd like to add into the story. Remember, the research at the beginning of the book will not always take you to the end of the book. Research more! Take the skills you have, and your basic writing skills, and actually use them to take your books through those difficult finishing touches. Like a sculptor with a finishing chisel, or a painter who takes a thin brush to even out the edges, it is vital to your work to use that fine-tuning skill to give the manuscript a much more enticing look. 10. Finally, keep it short and simple: realize you may be writing the next great piece of literature, but you won't be of any greatness if you struggle to complete any of your stories, only a great failure. Finish what you start, and eventually you'll have a completed manuscript that is par, or above. Perhaps even something greater than you've ever expected. Thank you for reading, if your looking for more writing tips , you can look me up at the Malacast Editorial: mcasteditorial.blogspot.com