Overcoming Writer's Block: An Inspirational True Story (Part 2)

For two years, I did not write. I made due with journaling and poetry. But it wasn't the same. Sure, poetry was nice because I could write and edit the entire poem in a day or less. But it was not a novel. I wanted the drive, the writer's high, the sponge-brain I got from being creatively drained after a long day of writing. For two years, I starved for it. I had ideas, sometimes felt inspired. I'd sit down and...nothing. A few pages would trickle forth before the inspiration dried up.Where once I had a muse, now I had only wishful thinking.

This past December, I published the third Superiors Series novel and began reading over some old ya stuff I'd written. It wasn't bad. I dug through the files and inevitably landed on my favorite, the last novel I'd finished before writer's block set in. It wasn't bad, either. In fact, I got sucked in and read the entire book, editing a bit as I went. I thought I'd add some scenes between the protag and a future love interest and, to make it realistic, a few background characters.

It. Was. Like. Pulling. My. Own. Teeth.

The words did not flow. They were as hard to write as it is to read the inappropriately punctuated sentence above. Through much frustration, I forced what no longer came naturally. Then I went back to the first novel in the series, the unfinished one, and finished it. The ending wasn't great. I'll probably change it if I ever publish. It was more summarizing what I knew happened than showing the events unfold. But as I finished the few scenes, something began to happen. A bit-part character began to nag at me, circling like a mosquito. This had happened before, so I wasn't too hopeful.

Surrendering to the quiet nagging, I began to write the novel that was tentatively asking if it could be written. It petered out after a few pages, as most of my ideas over the past few years had. But my muse-troll had begun to scratch one stiff finger against the grimy, dust-covered block that had held me back for two years. Then it knocked a hole in the block and peered at me with its beady little eye. It taunted me with promises too good to be believed. I hated that thing by now. I told it to shut up.

It refused to be silenced. This story did not ask if it should be written. It demanded to be. So I began to write...painfully, haltingly, uncertainly. I made every excuse to procrastinate, distract myself, and avoid the call of duty. I spent hours pinning, unfollowing unfollowers, and exploring the creepy world of instagram hastags. I struggled through passages of my novel, rewrote, rearranged, deleted, added, rearranged again. It seemed an impossible task. How had I done this so many times before? Why was I putting myself through it again? And why on earth did I think I'd missed it?

I finished the novel last week, the first I've written in over 2 years. I'm still shaking off the dust, or, more aptly, chipping away at the block. But maybe, just maybe, I'll tear the whole thing down. If not, and this was just some sort of fluke...I've always got the backlog.

Overcoming Writer's Block: An Inspirational True Story (Part 1)

I used to be quite the prolific writer. I wrote a series of 6 ya novels in seven months, only to learn that, by industry standards, each book was actually the length of 3 ya novels. Therefore, if I divided them into industry-sized ya novels, I wrote the equivalent of 18 ya novels in a span of 6-8 months. Then, though it was challenging and a struggle at times, I slogged my way through the 7 vampire novels in The Superior series in 6 months. Yes, this was during a time when I thought I was slow and uninspired. I had lots of bad days. Of course, back then a good day meant writing for 16 hours straight, churning out 50 pgs in a day, a novel in a week.

Then came a dry spell. Oh, the horror! I had writer's block. I went back and edited some of those bazillion books I'd churned out during the year. I soon found inspiration for a dystopian series, though not particularly original. I wrote 3 of those novels before running across a short story that inspired me to write 3 other ya sci-fi novels.

Wait, I'm not done yet.

That summer, I struggled through a YA novel, and got within chapters of the end before being distracted by a supporting character. I wrote a novel about her instead, and then one about her best friend, then one about her brother (also close to finished, but left without the final few chapters). This entire writing frenzy/binge/burst occurred over two years.

Now you can hate me. 

Around this time, I began dating the man I later married. But, I stopped writing. I was not inspired. I was busy, so I shrugged it off. I had lots going on in my life, and I'd had a few dry spells before. I figured it would last a month, and then I'd go back to churning out a book every few weeks.

I didn't.

As time went on, I became increasingly suspicious that my writing career was finished. I tried to console myself with the knowledge that I had a huge backlog of unedited novels to edit and publish. But as any writer knows, editing is a whole different thing from writing. Writing is creative. Editing is analytical. Writers don't write so that we will have something to edit. We write because we have stories that demand telling. Stories that will not let us rest until they are birthed from the rankest recesses of our brains.

Writers don't write to publish. While writing my first series, I didn't care that no one had read my writing or even knew that I wrote. I knew. My characters knew.

Now, I had no characters. I had no stories clamoring for release. I was barren.

I was blocked.

Accepting or Rejecting Writer Advice

You see it every day, all over Facebook, Pinterest boards, Twitter, and every other electronic forum/social media site: quotes by famous authors on writing. Memes. Funny e-cards. All with an overwhelming amount of advice for the hoards of us struggling through, and a lucky few breezing through, our novels. Every time I read one of these, I think it's a great quote with merit. So what happens when these famous authors begin to contradict one another? Do you choose to follow the advice of the one you admire more? The, "I want to be like him so I'll follow his advice" attitude. If that worked, we'd have many more Hemingways and Twains than we do.

With as many writers as we've had, and even more now, it's inevitable that all the advice won't be in perfect agreement. Writers love giving advice. Nowhere can you find a people more fascinated by our profession than writers. Why? Because it's a mystery. The well-known comparison of novel and baby works here, too. There's nothing a pregnant woman loves talking about more than pregnancy. Why? Because that baby growing inside is like some kind of miracle, some wonderful mystery. So, too, is the novel taking place in the writer's head. The only solution is to seek to explain it somehow, make sense of something that makes very little sense even to those doing it.

As with love, as with motherhood, there is no perfect way to write a novel. There are pantsers and planners. There are those who say, with regards to writing as well as love, "If it's worth working for, you must work for it!" and those who say, "If it don't come easy, you better let it go." To this, I will throw in my own two cents. If it's coming easy, that's a wonderful thing. You are blessed. Don't stop writing for anything. Because one day, it may stop coming so easy. And when it does, you will have to, as Hemingway famously said, "Sit down at the typewriter, and bleed."

I speak from experience here. On several occasions I churned out 50 pages in one day, leaving my brain feeling like a cooked potato. Now, I'm lucky if I can pry 5 pages from my miserly muse. I couldn't tell you what changed for all the money in Mr. Gates's bank account. One day it was easy, and the next thing I knew, it wasn't. I thought this was a phase I would let pass, so I stopped writing fiction for two years. I kept a journal, went back to dabbling in poetry, came up with an idea or two and followed them for the ten or so pages until they turned to ether and vanished. And then, I got tired of waiting for the muse, and I sat down at my computer, and bled.

Yes, it is frustrating. Sometimes my characters refuse to tell me what's going on, so I make something up, and later, they tell me I was wrong, and I have to go back and change their family, their back story, even their names. But there is something on the page. And that's better than nothing. Maybe one day, my Prinspiration will come, scoop me up on the inspiration pony and ride away with me. Until then, I'll struggle to pull my ox out of the mud.

My best advice for writers is this: Don't stop writing. When it's easy, go with it. When it's hard, dig for it. When you finish it and it's amazingly magically perfect, set it aside and come back to it later (if it's a first draft, it's not perfect, I promise). When it's ugly, edit it and rewrite it until it's passable. Then, when you have finished one novel, whatever your process, whatever your product, pick up your proverbial pen and start all over again.

Should You Write What You Know?

Many, if not all, writers have probably heard this advice time and again. It's easy advice to give new writers. After all, it's easiest and most honest in your writing to write what you know. But is that what we should stick to?

I don't have an easy answer to that question. On the one hand, what you are familiar with is going to sound most comfortable. But if all writers stuck to what we knew, there would be no such genres as fantasy and science fiction. Some of the most brilliant works would not have been written. Because we have to write from our imaginations, too. After all, how much did H.G. Wells know about giant aliens, or time travel, or genetic mutations? Maybe something, but since time travel is still theoretical at this point, we have to assume he didn't "know" much about it. How much did Tolkien know about wizards and hobbits? How much did Lovecraft, or Shelley, or King know about... You get the point. On a personal note, I am not a vampire, or a teenager, or a man, or gay. I have never been in an arranged marriage, played basketball, dated a Catholic, or shot up heroin. And yet I have written about all of those things and plenty more that I've never experienced. But parts of me sneak into every character in every novel.

On the other hand, you have authors who write semi-autobiographical novels, and they are just as alive and wonderful, whether they are humorous Jack Gantos novels or disturbing abuse novels. And no matter what you're writing, you've probably had to do at least a teensy tiny bit of research. Even when I'm writing something that is purely from my imagination, I don't think I've ever made it through a book without having to do a little research, whether it's vampire lore or the age cutoffs for statutory rape in each state (ah, the things writers google).

So I guess the best advice I can give is, write what interests you, even if it's not what you know. Write what fascinates you, what you're passionate about, especially if no one else is writing about it. Chances are, someone else is interested in that subject too. Think no one wants to read caveman romances? Auel's readership would disagree. There's a readership for just about anything. If your craft is strong and you are honest in what you write, you don't have to know it, at least not initially. You will write it and research it until you do know it. You will find your plotline and follow it, and when you know that, you're on the right track.

New Year's Resolutions

So I posted my New Year's Resolutions last year, but I'm scared to even look at them, because I'm pretty sure I achieved zero out of however many I made. Still, I forge ahead with new goals for this year. Always the optimist!

2014 Goals and Resolutions:
1. Write a book. You know those crazy people who do nanowrimo and write a whole book in a month? I'm not one of them. However, I believe I can write a whole novel in a year. That's optimistic for me.

2. Publish a book. I think that was the one resolution I made in 2013 that I achieved. So I'm going to keep it for this year. I only have about 20 books written that need to be edited and published. I'm sure I can find one that's worthy of publication this year.

3. Blog consistently. I am going to try for 3 blogs a week. Don't know how long it will last, but I'm going to try.

4. Move in with my husband. Every time I tell someone I don't live with my husband, they look at me like I'm crazy. We bought a house at the end of 2013, but it's a huge project. So my goal is to live in it before 2014 is over.

5. Have a garden. I've been itching to do this for a few years now, but I don't have a garden space. At our new place, I will. I'm starting small, but anything is better than nothing.

6. Be more social. Not the kind of social that I've been doing (social media) but hanging out, going to see my friends in person. I'm going to try for at least twice a month, realistically.

7. Stay positive. This is a hard one for me. My mind tends towards the negative. But I've been trying to 'think positive' for a few months now, and it's starting to get easier. Onwards and upwards in 2014!