I'm feeling completely uninspired today. Nothing I attempt to write--blog posts, scene outlines, even Tweets--seems right. Everything is trite, dull. Uninspired.
So tell me: what do you do when you want to write but the words just aren't there? How do you get past the block?
I set a timer for 30 minutes and force myself to write, no matter what comes out. A lot of times that section will need to be completely rewritten later, but at least there's something on the page.
ReplyDeleteI also listen to music, watch one of my favorite movies, or read a good book. And take lots of showers.
Hi, Dana. My brother's got a beautiful home and he's always telling the rest of us in the family to do "15 minutes maintenance" a day. If you do that, you usually get inspired and wind up doing an hour's maintenance - or a whole day. I translate that to my writing. When I feel burned out, I try to work on easy stuff, like proofreading and minor revisions until I get back in gear. And it works for me.
ReplyDeleteNot to worry - maybe it's just a caffeine hangover from yesterday!
PS - But my house will still never be like his, haha! By the way, your tweets are some of my favorites on Twitter.
ReplyDeleteI usually try working on something new, like a short story that won't take too long. And as Monica mentioned above, working on the little things often helps gets things moving again. :)
ReplyDeleteAlcohol.
ReplyDeleteHehe. Only partially joking. Getting out and doing something always seems to help, but we only have one car and no money, so that doesn't happen too often.
But just sitting down and reading helps a lot. Or cooking! Oh man, once I'm in the kitchen my mind kind of goes blank with all of the chopping and dicing and stirring, and ideas just kind of creep in. Hopefully this block will pass soon!
Linda, I love your idea of setting a time limit and forcing myself to write. You're right: whether the words are good or not doesn't matter. At least they'll be there.
ReplyDeleteMonica: LOL The caffeine probably had something to do with it! Your idea really makes a lot of sense. I can see how working on the easier stuff would help me to sort of slide back in to the writing itself. Great idea! (And thanks for your comment about Twitter!)
The Golden Eagle: I love your idea too! I get so focused sometimes on the "main" project that I lose sight of the other ones I'm working on. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin: ;) Stepping away--great idea! And it works: I've avoided working on my WIP for the past couple of days, and once I was consciously trying not to think about it, it's all I thought about, and I came up with some good, workable ideas. Thanks!