There's No Such Thing As Writer's Block

   

   Gotta admit, it's been quite awhile. Christmas and New Years got pretty busy. But now we're snowed in, so I've got plenty of time to write a quaint little blog post.

   A little while ago, I participated in a live webinar with Jerry Jenkins and David Loy (Two experienced published authors).

   Jenkins gave seven things to help you finish your book. I won't list them all, because I don't want to steal his thunder or anything... Like that would ever happen.

   But the thing that stood out to me mostly, wasn't one of the seven points. It was actually just in his introduction. He said “There's no such thing as writer's block. It's all just laziness. It's an excuse all of us writers use when we're scared."

   If you were a secretary, and you called into work one day, and said, “I'm sorry, I can't come to work today because I have Secretary's Block.” you'd probably be laughed off the phone and told to come into work regardless.

   It's no different with writers. There is no reason that we should not be writing. Even if you can't think about what should come next in your story, keep writing. Write anything. You can edit later.

   One thing I've learned from writing, is that whatever you write, good or bad, it is always beneficial. There have been times when I've sat down to write, stared at the words that I left off at, and didn't know what to write. So I left it. The same thing happened the next time, and the next time. The only way I got out of that rut, is by adding something, even if it was stupid and didn't make sense.

      He also said that this so-called “writer's block” comes from fear. Yes. It does. Fear of whoever reads it. Fear of your editor. Fear of your potential publisher. Fear of your family reading it and judging you. Fear of yourself...

   The best way to get rid of that fear is to just think of one person that you trust. One single person. (Not as in someone who isn't dating... but like... oh, nevermind.) Write the story for them. Think about how they would react to each page. Think about what criticism they might have while you write. If you narrow down the focus to one person, the writing doesn't seem so nerve-wracking.

   Are you struggling with writer's block fear? What are your methods of getting out of your “Writing Ruts”?

Stay writerly!

-The Bandit

November Updates

   Yay! So NaNoWriMo is over, and I''m super excited because I wrote 50K! My novel that I was writing however, it still not finished. I will continue to write the last 25% and then start the dreaded editing. 

   To my fellow NaNo-ers who made it, CONGRATULATIONS! Go buy yourself some ice cream and sit down on a comfy chair and read your manuscript. 

   If you didn't make it, CONGRATULATIONS! You at least have more words than you did before. Go buy yourself some tea and write some more!

   I just wanted to throw out there that all you young (or not so young) writers are amazing. Writing is hard. It isn't all rainbows and unicorns. A lot of hard work goes into writing a novel. Research, discipline, caffeine, more research, more caffeine... keep doing what you're doing at your own pace. 

   One simple little piece of advice that I've been hearing all over the place is this: Write every day. Even if it's crap. Get some kind of words on paper. This is what separates wannabe writers from actual writers. (Remember you don't have to have published books to be a writer). 

Keep on keeping on! 

-The Bandit

   

Small Details

   

  I didn't think I would write a post in the middle of NaNoWriMo, but I had an idea for one, so I decided to take some time off of writing my novel.

Small details tell the story. Without those details, the story would be bland and lifeless. Like a six year old trying to tell a joke and then totally butchering it. Without the details, the story would be confusing, and boring.

Here is an example without details:

'The emperor watched the gladiators fight.'

That leaves a lot of questions: What did the emperor feel about the gladiator games? Did he approve? Was he watching them through his fingers? How am I supposed to feel while reading this?

Here is an example with details:

'Emperor Nonus watched the gladiators fight to the death with a great amusement. He licked the bits of fruit juice off his fingers, without taking his eyes off the arena.'

Because of this paragraph, we now know that the emperor enjoys the barbaric sport. It also shows that he isn't disturbed in the least by the killing and gore, as we see he is eating while watching.

My point is, if you add detail to the story, it gives it life...and that's what we're all after, isn't it?

That's all for now!

-The Bandit