Do you suffer from writer's block? Do you worry that you won't make that deadline because you can't come up with anything? Have you put your writing away because you just can't get past that one part?
We've all been there. We all get writer's block! When I was writing By Love or By Sea, I sat in front of my computer for 30 days before I figured out a solution to the problem. So what did I do?
Well, first off, I sat there, every day. I tried to write and usually I ended up deleting it all. But I kept trying. When my mind was completely blank, I did research online. I kept trying to come up with new angles and new situations.
Finally, after a month of dedicated perserverence, a thought struck me. A lot like lightening. I suddenly knew exactly what to write. And I couldn't write down my thoughts fast enough. My house and family were neglected because I was so desperate not to lose my thought!
Is that the only way to go about writer's block? Probably not. I do think that by trudging on through you can work through it. Although sometimes I think you need to put it away for a week or so and work on something else before coming back to it.
One think I know for certain, if you put it away and don't keep trying, you will never get beyond it. So keep on trying. It will work out sooner or later!
*Part 1 of this series, Influences on Writing - Music, can be found at on my blog! I look forward to seeing you there!
A friend sent me an interesting essay. In it a woman said that she writes because she can't draw. Her brother is an artist and in her heart she felt a need to describe the beauties of the Northwest in the autumn so she penned gorgeous lines which I'm not even going to try to imitate.
I read that and thought, "Wow, that's not why I write at all."
I write because I love people. I love stories and passions that drive action. I love coming to new epiphanies and seeing life from new perspectives once those lessons have been digested. I love seeing the flow of life in miniature and feeling that every difficulty has purpose and perhaps, I'm a little too impatient to wait for reality so I make it up myself.
I write because I have vivid dreams and more vivid imaginings. I write because I want to experience the past with the muscles and flesh on, not simply the bones that historians leave behind. I write because I want to reach to the future or maybe even change it a little.
And if I didn't write I would still dream and dance in my mind, but the moment I turned from those thoughts, they'd be gone forever. So I write to keep the crazy wonderful musings of mind alive just a little longer.
A week ago my husband and I attended a funeral for a close friend. She and I had worked side by side for several years in the temple. She got Breast Cancer a few months before I did. Hers was much more serious, and though the cancer went into remission for a time, it came back - this time in her lung. She fought a good fight with all her heart and soul - with deep faith and she won. She got to go home where there is no more pain and suffering.
Last Tuesday, I helped at the voting poll. Santa Clara has just over 1600 residents. Only 275 people The thing was that it is an 'off' year and it's not important, right? Wrong!!! We have to fight with all our heart and soul to keep that which is precious to us - our freedom.
Last Wednesday, I helped receive art that is to be hung in our Zion's Bank Staircase Gallery. I put numbers on the frames and had the artists fill out the information paper, etc., giving me the chance to see (up close and personal) the beautiful artwork revealing the heart and soul of the artist.
(Thursday, I went to the Chiropractor to get my back back in line.)
I've been reading "Am I Not a Man?" A powerful story of one man and the difference he made in the world just because his heart and his soul directed him.
I think what I'm trying to say is this: If we want to make a difference in this life We have to live and die with all of our heart and soul. We have to stand up for freedom with all of our heart and soul. We have to paint with all of our heart and soul. we have to write with all of our heart and our soul. We have to do this so that we can touch others lives and raise our own one more step above the bar.
I have to sign off now. I'm leaving for Provo to see the Rhumetologist and this is one thing I will admit, I do not have my heart and soul in this.
Did I mention last month that I’m participating in this year’s National Novel Writing Month challenge? The deal is that I had to sign up on a website, and by doing so, commit myself to writing 50,000 words in thirty days. I did that, and then added a bunch of writing buddies who will cheer me on and keep me going when I decide I don’t want to do it anymore.
The challenge started at midnight on November first, or in other words, the minute Halloween was over.
How am I doing? So far so good. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this month, it’s the value of a quiet moment of meditation. Now, I’m not talking about during the writing process—that, my friends, is a stall tactic—but just before. I’ve discovered that when I take five or ten minutes to meditate, to sit still and quiet in a relaxed position, all by myself, I am far more prepared to write from the heart instead of my head.
“But,” you ask, “What’s the difference?” Everyone is different, so this may not be true for you, but I’ve discovered that the material that comes from my heart is far better—and requires less editing or large, ridiculous numbers of rewrites—than when I sit down and force something to come out of my head.
As an example I’ll use my two current works in progress. I started the first one last winter, in a moment of inspiration that came to me during one of my kids’ basketball games. The first chapter or two flowed easily and established a cast of characters I loved, and who have developed into people a reader can care about. I’ve been working on this manuscript for almost a year, and it stands right now, about 2/3 finished, at 60,000 some odd words. Currently, this story is stalled.
It’s taken me a long time to build up that word count because of countless minutes of writing time wasted staring at a blank screen as I wonder what happens next and try to force the story to work out in my head. By trying to force myself to write the story, I caused my characters, plot, and setting details to stall, gel, and rebel against being written. The stinkers!
On the other hand, the story I started last week for NaNoWriMo is in a completely different realm. I know the characters fairly well, and have a very vague idea of what needs to happen and where the story is going, but I have no preconceived plans other than an idea of what the main character will need to experience in order to accomplish her quest. By not having outlined ideas in my head, and then trying to force these ideas onto the screen, I am better able to take five or ten minutes of quiet meditation before I begin writing and use them to dig deep into my heart, and allow the words and story to simply flow—unedited and not judged by my dreaded fear of failure.
This week I’ve written over 20,000 words, which is roughly 1/3 of the words completed in my other manuscript. You know, the one on which I’ve been working for eight or nine months and still have not finished. Interesting, isn’t it?
So the question of the day is does it make a difference when you start your writing session with a few quiet minutes of meditation? Share your thoughts, I really want to know.
**Mormon Mishaps and Mischief update: Cindy and I have received the proofs, and are getting ready to turn them in to our editor, Heidi. We’re still waiting for a solid publication date, and our real cover art, but are expecting good news any day. Stay tuned.
Ever wonder what it takes to succeed at something? I stumbled across the list below and got a real kick out of some of the college degrees famous people have earned. Some will surprise you:
Adam Sandler - Fine Arts
Alex Trebek - Philosophy
Andy Griffith - Music
Angela Bassett - Drama
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Physical Communications Art Garfunkel
Barbara Walters - English
Barry Manilow - Music
Bill Clinton - Foreign Service
Bruce Lee - Philosophy
Cindy Crawford - Chemical Engineering
Clarence Thomas - English
Colin Powell - Geology
Conan O'Brien - American History and Literature
David Letterman - Telecommunications
Dick Cheney - Political Science
Donald Trump - Economics
Garth Brooks - Journalism/Advertising
George Clooney - Broadcasting
George W. Bush - History
Harrison Ford - Philosophy
Janet Reno - Chemistry
Julia Roberts - Veterinary Studies
Kevin Costner - Business Administration
Margaret Thatcher - Chemistry
Michael Crichton - Anthropology
Michael Jordan - Cultural Geography
Mick Jagger - Economics
Will Ferrell - Sports Information
Willard Scott - Religious Studies
So, why did I want to share these with you today? Because I wanted to make a few points. You'll notice that some of the famous people listed above went on to achieve great things in their chosen field, while others did something completely different from their educational pursuit. You may have travelled down one of life's paths, planning for a specific destination, only to find that it wasn't what you thought it was going to be.
You may be currently working in a profession that you don't enjoy or one that simply doesn't pay as much as you thought it would. You may even be out of a job right now. Or you may have set aside your occupation for a time in order to stay home to raise your children. I know that in between diaper changes you often ask yourself if you're succeeding at anything! I've learned that, despite your best plans, life throws lots of twists and turns at you. Those experiences can make for the most interesting writing!
Whatever education or training you’ve had in the past has helped mold you into the person you are today. The truth is, your life is an education and there are things you've learned that others would love to read about, whether through characters in your book or as an autobiography.
Look at that list above again. Wow, who knew Cindy Crawford had beauty AND brains?! What did it take for those people to succeed? Persistence. Talent. Time. Hard work. Tenacity. Those are the same things it takes to get a book published! Whatever chapter of your life you're in right now, look at what you've learned and celebrate it!
I now have a steady date. Nope. Not that kind of date :-) I mean I’m now scheduled to appear on this blog the first Saturday of each month, so please put me on your to-read list if you enjoy these British peeks into the past.
Since the last dark posting (click HERE) about cellars and Highwayman Higgins, I thought I’d get brighter today and dip into sunnier memories, when horses, cricket, and harvesting filled my days.
After much begging, my parents eventually allowed me to take riding lessons on a real horse (click HERE for fake horse), and since my bicycle rides down country lanes often went past riding stables in the nearby village of Plumley, I knew exactly where to go.
To my mind, not much beats the pleasing lines of a fine horse. Those were halcyon days. It was all good. The smell of horse skin as I groomed my ride. The supple feel of pungent leather tackle. Even stomping through muck to clean out stables had its own satisfying and wholesome odor.
Real horses were much better than I imagined. Until the day I fell off when my horse stalled at a jump and I broke my coccyx bone. Even then, once mended, returning to riding was a must. My favorite things to draw at that age were horse heads with those long eyelashes and flared nostrils. I progressed to whole horses, but never could quite capture the majesty of the animal.
Dreaming up horse stories was something that kept me sane when my father took us to boring cricket matches on Saturday afternoons. The Knutsford Cricket Club had a country setting back then, surrounded by trees and fields.
There was a rough, hilly area covered in tall grass near the car park that was perfect for playing cops and robbers. And for lying hidden from the crowds, watching the sky, imagining I was far away. Mum and Dad sat in deckchairs, staring at the game, clapping now and again when anything
happened, which wasn’t very often. I can still hear the distant, dull thwack of leather ball on wooden bat, followed by faint shouts of "Howzat?" (“How is that?” – i.e. is the batsman still in or was he bowled or caught out?).
There was a sweet scent of grass attached to those long ago cricket days. I don’t know whether it came from playing in it, or from the velvet-cut pitch, but I do know I still love that smell today and can go back in time the minute someone cuts their grass.
Harvest time in the fields has the same effect. We went on annual holidays to a farm in North Wales (more about that another time), and “helped” the farmer reap his hay, much to my mother’s apprehension. I see the danger now, but didn’t then. The field was small, and we sat on the edge, waiting
for rabbits and mice to escape as the tractor cut closer and closer to midfield. We never did catch them as they scurried out, despite inventing all kinds of traps. The nasty part was when some creatures ran the wrong way, going further into the center until they became trapped and mangled. My heart wept for them. In my stories, they always found ways to escape.
That’s it for this month. Back to moving house. And unpacking boxes. And meeting old and new friends. And making more memories.
Anne Bradshaw
PS - I'm signing at Confetti Books, Spanish Fork, UT, Friday, November 20th, 6:00 PM and love meeting readers. Famous Family Nights www.annebradshaw.com annebradshaw.blogspot.com
If I said that writers need to read, you might nod and think I mean that internally we have to read--it's part of our makeup. That would be true for most every writer I know, but that's not what I mean.
The fact is, as in any profession, writers need to keep up with what's going on in their business. That means I need to be aware of what other writers in my genre are producing, what the trend is. Reading is also necessary as part of the process of learning to write. When I read a book, I often study the setting, characters, plots and other aspects of the writing. I pay attention to beautiful prose (because that is really not my strong point) and things that don't work for me in the story.
I may be totally caught up in the book, but after writing for so many years, a part of my brain is always scrutinizing the text, trying to figure out why I enjoy the book. Is it great characters? A skillfully woven plot? Is there just enough chemistry between the man and woman to keep me wondering how and when they are going to get past their obstacles? Is the mystery getting more complex and do I keep asking myself who was responsible for the murder?
It's important for me to focus on these aspects as I read because they help me become a better writer. After I had one of my manuscripts edited by a published writer for the first time, I realized that I had trouble knowing how and where to add descriptions. I tended to add them in unecessary places, or I made them too passive (or I left them out entirely). On the recommendation of another friend, I spent untold hours over the next several months reading everything written by a specific author that I could get my hands on. I probably read close to forty or fifty of her books in under three months (they were mostly pretty short and she's obviously been writing for quite some time) and when I started writing again the descriptions came much easier to me--because I had studied how to do it.
Reading is an important part of honing my craft, but I sometimes struggle to find time to sit down with a book because I have so many other things to do (writing is only one of them). Still, when I do pick up a book, slide back into a hot bubble bath, or wrap myself up in blankets in bed, I find my frustrations trickle away, my worries flee, and when I finish, I'm far more ready to get back to work on my next book.
What have you read lately?
PS I'll be signing with some other great authors at the Sandy, Utah Barnes & Noble Saturday from 2-4. Stop in and enter to win one of our prizes!
We've all been there. We all get writer's block! When I was writing By Love or By Sea, I sat in front of my computer for 30 days before I figured out a solution to the problem. So what did I do?
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