Archive for the ‘Writer’s block’ Category

Happiness Is a Warm Keyboard

Posted: February 19, 2013 in creativity, ideas, Writer's block, Writing
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I was listening to NPR this morning while I was in pursuit of a rumor of free firewood (a story for another time). They were talking about research on happiness. The question came up: does having children REALLY make you happier? Research showed that the acts involved in taking care of children actually ranked pretty low on a scale of what made people happy. Having sex ranked highest. But when they talked to a woman who has made a  career out of researching happiness, she stated that they need to differentiate between the individual acts of parenting and the general feeling that came as a result of being a parent. It was the latter where parenthood was considered a happy activity.

I can relate, both as a parent and as a writer. I enjoy being a writer, but I don’t find myself always eager to jump out of bed and get right on my computer, excited about what words might come out of my brain that morning. That happens rarely, usually when I already KNOW what is going to come out. Most of the time it is a disciplined torture. Many times I find every excuse in the book not to write, mostly because I don’t feel I am up to the task.

I often hate writing. But I always love having written.

The key to surviving those days–oh, so many of them–when I don’t want to write and don’t feel I have anything to say can be summed up in one word. Discipline. You have to talk to yourself as if you were your own child. Use whatever means you find works–carrot or stick–to make it happen. I find that I work best under deadline, so I often set aside a specific amount of time ahead of time with a specific goal to accomplish during that time. Often I have Want To goals as well as Need To goals. For example, spring break is coming up. I Want To finish up Infinity’s Reach as well as start editing The Champion during that time. I Need To get Infinity done. If I get ambitious, I might get both done, but the bottom line is to get my Need To list done. I also cushion my deadlines so that I expect more in less time than I actually have to have done. When and if it doesn’t happen, at least I have the real deadline to fall back on.

It’s great to have something written. Partly because I know what torture I have to go through to get it written.

Physical Therapy for the Soul

Posted: December 18, 2012 in creativity, Writer's block, Writing
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I am in the first official week of Christmas break. Because I am a writer as well as a university professor, one would think I would be throwing myself into another writing project at this point, grateful that I am unencumbered by the many details of being a professor.

Well, a couple of problems with that. I haven’t left my day job behind yet. I am wrapping up the last two brochures in the series I have been working on, fixing bugs in the new website that launched last week, and getting people to sign off on our alumni magazine that I edit. In addition to that, I have been sick since Dec. 7.  The doctor told me yesterday that I needed total rest. I tried that yesterday and found that wasn’t going to work, simply because other people weren’t real sympathetic, and in the meantime I was going crazy. So I was in the office this morning and got a few things done, and did OK. I really think I am coming out of this.

But as much as I love writing, guess what I am longing to do? Rake leaves. Build a treehouse for my grandson. Fix my wife’s oven. What one would call menial labor. I call it Physical Therapy for the Soul.

My day job involved a lot of cerebral activity, and of course, so does writing. But it’s not simply a matter of sitting down and writing. You have to nurture that creative spirit in your brain. I do that by letting go of the junk that comes with my day job and occupying my logical side (right brain? left brain? I don’t remember) with raking leaves, mowing the lawn or washing the dishes. It’s therapy, and at this point, that’s what I need.

I have several writing project I could be working on, but after the stuff I have been wading through lately, I think I will let that wait. Instead, I need to busy my hands and unbusy my brain.

That’s what works for me.

Eve of Destruction

Posted: November 29, 2012 in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Writer's block, Writing
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I swear, this is the last time that you will hear about NaNoWriMo from me this year. Well, maybe one more time…

Tomorrow is November 30, the last day of my attempt to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days for National Novel Writing Month. I am at 43,333, within spitting distance of the finish line. And it seems like all creation is conspiring to keep me from finishing.

Last week I got three good chapters done, a lot less than I had hoped, but enough to keep me ahead of the curve. This week, when I swore I would turn over a new leaf and get more done, I have written in dribs and drabs. The problem has mostly been because my job has been insane. We are down to the last two weeks of school, our new website is about to launch, I am breaking in a new student assistant, and the alumni magazine that I edit is woefully behind schedule, with an important advisory meeting scheduled for tomorrow. I would put off my NaNoWriMo project until next week, but that’s not going to work. The idea is to be done on November 30.

And so I am going to try to find time today, tonight and tomorrow to get about 7,000 words written. It’s doable–I have written 7,000 words in a day before–but the other problem is that I am uninspired with a lot of other things vying for my attention.

So we will give it the old college try. And then we will face December 1 with our chins held high….

Give a Man a Fish

Posted: November 7, 2012 in apocalypse, Criticism, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Writer's block, Writing, Writing class
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I have a young friend who sees himself as a writer of screenplays. He has education along those lines, with some of it coming from me. He’s currently working on a short film that he has high hopes for. I’ve read the script, and I also believe that it shows some promise. I’ve actually read the script three times, not because I was that infatuated with it, but because my friend keeps bringing it back to me, hoping I will tell him how to fix it. Another friend had referred to it as a “diamond in the rough.” It’s been through about five or six drafts, but has many more to go.

Because I knew my young friend was interested in script writing, I gave him a copy of “Story” by Robert McKee, the exceptional book on script writing that we are using for a textbook in my Drama Writing class. I checked back with him yesterday. Six months after receiving the book, he reports that he has read five pages in the book.

Now, I am happy to help students and former students out with their writing projects, but I am not willing to do their work for them. And a large part of the work of writing is recognizing what you don’t know, and finding out how you can learn it. For example, my weakness is the rewrite process. Even after 40 years of writing, I struggle–just as my young friend does–with knowing what needs to be fixed, and then going through the process of fixing it. That’s why I shared this book with this young writer.

As I have said many times before, if you are serious about being a writer, you never stop being a student. That also means reading everything you can get your hands on about writing, specifically those areas that you need to grow in. Forty years in, and I still do this. I don’t think I will ever master the craft, and that’s part of what entices me about writing.

 

On other fronts, I am struggling with National Novel Writing Month. I am presently working on “Infinity’s Reach,” the retelling of Pilgrim’s Progress set in post-apocalyptic America. My main character started off in Tennessee on a trip across the country, and at the halfway mark of the book, she is still in Tennessee. I am realizing that the book will likely be much larger and more complex that I had originally envisioned. For the purposes of NaNoWriMo, I just need to average 1,000 words a day to finish with my 50,000 words, but more important than the word count is completing the novel. Right now, I am just going to focus on getting some words on paper every single day–no matter how few or how crappy they sound to me as I am writing them.

That’s what NaNoWriMo is all about. Quantity, not quality.

Talk to ya later.

Slow and steady wins the…something

Posted: November 5, 2012 in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Writer's block, Writing
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Well, after last week’s last blog, the obvious question is, How goes NaNoWriMo?

In one word, slow. Because I am working on a book I already started, I dropped 14,000 words in on the first day of NaNoWriMo, and have since added about 6500 words. That’s not too bad, considering that today is only Day 5 of the month-long event. But as usual, I am pushing myself to do more than I am willing to do. The spirit is willing, but the body is…lazy. I have had a talk with myself and said, “Self, you can at least plan on writing one 2,000-word chapter a day. Is that too much to ask?” And my Self answers back, “Huh? You talking to me?”

But that’s the plan at this point. I usually try to do a little more than the minimum, simply because all kinds of unforeseen things happen that are…unforeseen. If I write 30,000 words in 15 days, I will have my book completed. And even though I technically haven’t written 50,000 words in 30 days, I will have my novel completed, which for me is more important anyway.

So that’s the plan. I will keep you posted as time goes on.

 

Over the Hump

Posted: October 24, 2012 in creativity, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Writer's block, Writing
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It’s a good news, bad news scenario.

First the good news. I finally am making time for writing–my writing, the stuff that ruminates in the back of my mind when I am busy doing other stuff here at the University. When I am writing articles for Southwestern Spirit magazine, playing webmaster, teaching classes or sitting in committee meetings, my body is there, but my spirit is…writing. I have survived the first two months of the school year, all the time committing to the idea of National Novel Writing Month–or NaNoWriMo, as many know it–50,000 words in the 30 days of November. It’s insane, and just the task of saying you will do it is often the biggest obstacle. But once you’re rolling, I find myself in the zone, and refreshed with the understanding that the only thing that matters is writing 1,666 words a day.

Now the bad news. I am excited. I am also petrified. I’ve done it two years–2008 and 2009–but found reasons not to participate the last couple of years. One thing I have learned is to not broadcast it at the workplace, because they get the idea that they aren’t giving you enough work to do. Also, you need to apologize in advance to your family and any significant others for being in your “cave” for the next 30 days. I am almost at the point of backing out again. Almost.

Right now, I am spending time outlining the proposed book I want to work on. I’m cheating somewhat, because the book is already started. It’s my post-apocalyptic version of Pilgrim’s Progress called Infinity’s Reach. I have gone through a chapter outline once, and as usual, am unhappy with how it is turning out, so I suspect I will outline it a few more times before November 1. In the meantime, I am actually getting inspired about another book I want to write eventually. This always happens to me; I usually get down to the night before NaNoWriMo before I officially commit to what book I am going to write. But even though I have ideas for book B, I know that Infinity’s Reach is a lot more developed, and I am less likely to sputter and die if I stick with it.

The biggest challenge is going to be getting inspired, and I think that will come once I put pen to paper again. Or fingers to keyboard. Whatever.

In any case, I will keep you guys in the loop. And if you’re crazy enough, I invite you to join me. Visit the website for NaNoWriMo to find out more.

 

Really, It’s Not the Lottery. Or Is It?

Posted: September 13, 2012 in creativity, ideas, Stories, Writer's block, Writing, Writing class
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I spent a little time on Twitter this morning. My Reporting class is involved in an in-class writing exercise, which gives me time to play. Once again, as I surf through Twitter, I am amazed and floored at the thousands and thousands of would-be writers all saying the same things and dreaming the same dreams. They all want to be published. Not only that, they all believe the book they are working on will be the Next Great Thing and that money will no longer will be an issue for them.

I had a student of mine approach me this morning. She has been self publishing for a while, and is a promising writer. She told me that she is tired of indie publishing and that her next step is to go out and get an agent. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the odds are stacked against her. I have made concerted efforts a couple of times to get an agent with no success. And yet, there’s always the chance that she will succeed where I have failed.

It’s not a lottery out there, or is it? Is it just a matter of writing book after book after book, hoping that one day one of them will catch on? A sort of serendipity? Yes, and for the main part, no. There are a few urban myths of writers who struck gold their first time around, or wrote in anonymity for years and then suddenly were a success. But I know there are thousands more who write and write and write without any success whatever. Timing is significant, I know. I’ve been an editor and have accepted manuscripts for publication, only to have an even better one appear a day later, when my budget for new manuscripts is already gone. Timing is important.

But what is far more important is craft. You need to be able to write a decent story. And that takes either (1) an innate talent that can’t be taught, or more likely (2) years and years of commitment to learning how to write. Patience. Tenacity. Belief that you have a purpose, something to say.

The other part, that I am becoming more and more aware of, is that you have to have a story to tell. That sounds simpler than it is. There are countless stories being told right now that are not unique, not profound, and ever so forgettable. Your story has to be something that haunts the reader for days, weeks, even months after they read it. And often it’s not craft that does that. It’s the story.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and most great novels aren’t either. Hang in there. Be patient. Pay your dues.

And best wishes.

World Building

Posted: July 18, 2012 in Christian novels, Religion, Science Fiction, Stories, Writer's block, Writing
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I was surprised recently to read that of all the writing genres, Fantasy required the most structure. But as I thought about it, it makes sense. You are asking the reader to suspend disbelief, but in order to do that, you have to establish rules for your own created universe, and then stick by them. If you make rules and then break them, you have betrayed your social–or literary–contract with your reader, and they are under no obligation to stick with you or your story.

The most non-structured story? The one set in modern day with ordinary people. As I tell my students, use ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, or else use extraordinary people in ordinary circumstances. If both are ordinary, the story is boring. If both are extraordinary, the reader won’t belief it.

But I find myself continuing work on my Pilgrim’s Progress reprise, set in post-apocalyptic America. I’ve finished the rough draft up to chapter 5, and am ready to continue. But I find myself challenged with something ever fantasy writer has had to deal with.

World building.

What I mean is what I discussed earlier. I have to set the rules for this universe where the story is taking place. In this situation, war has ravaged the United States of America. Two girls wake up after drug-induced amnesia, two years after the war has started. It has included an EMP burst over the eastern seaboard, selective nuclear strikes, and anthrax attacks. This was followed by an invasion by an Asian Coalition.

As the girls wake up, they are somewhere in Tennessee, and have the task of making it to a place in the far West called Camp Zion. They deal with enemy soldiers, deranged criminals called “demons,” and even their own troops. Civilization, for the most part, is gone.

What’s tricky in this situation is to be creative when you, as the writer, envision the world. There’s a natural tendency to fall back on and use ideas that you have read or seen somewhere. I catch myself constantly trying to recycle someone else’s ideas. If you go this route, the best thing to do is to synthesize ideas from several sources into a palatable whole.

But what’s even better is to look at history for inspiration. What would life be like in a situation like this? We don’t really know, but we can guess. And we base that on what we have seen in the past.

In any case, I find myself struggling to continue the story until I get a proper grasp on the world in which this is happening. In Rough Writers, our student creative writing group here on campus, there are a couple of young writers who are exceptionally good at world building. Maybe I will try to get counsel from them.

In the meantime, as usual, I am open to suggestions from you.

Another delay? It’s all good.

Posted: June 21, 2012 in Stories, Writer's block, Writing
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This has been the summer for dealing with ancillary stuff.

As always, my primary goal in the summer is to get some writing done. I have two–make that three–writing projects I am still hoping to work on this summer. But other obligations always seem to get in the way.

I have to start off by explaining that in addition to teaching classes as a full professor I moonlight writing for the marketing department at the school. Most of the time it is no big deal. But on occasion, it gets pretty busy. And because my classes aren’t all that full, they also asked me to serve as webmaster. So sometimes I can be pretty occupied.

First it was the university’s magazine that I edit. Normally it is cleared right before graduation and printed in mid-May. I just got done giving it final clearance so it can be printed–six weeks late.

Then it was the school’s new website. I had my portion of the new site relatively complete back in November. When I didn’t hear from IT by February, I asked what was going on. They told me it was put on low priority. So I said, OK, and moved on to other things. Suddenly, two weeks ago it became high priority again. Sigh.

Yesterday I was given a series of 12-14 brochures to write by the Enrollment Department. Deadline? They want them in the mail by Sept. 1. Fortunately I write fast, but it does put other things on hold.

But it’s all good–or at least I keep telling myself that. I still haven’t figured out the nuts and bolts of my three writing projects. Just some vague moody stuff. And I need to decide which one to tackle first.

In addition, I know that even if I don’t get to write as much I would like on my novels this summer, not only am I helping out the university with my contribution, but every word that I write is helping me hone my craft. I remind students of this every time they write–and rewrite–a news story, or a short story, or a novel.

Beyond that, even if it rejected, they are not wasting their time. That’s the nice thing about writing. There’s no wasting time. There’s just time better spent. Thinking about your novel and mowing the lawn is not wasting time. In fact, I would suspect more than 60 percent of the time I spend on a novel is before I put any words on paper.

The biggest challenge for me is just getting my brain free from other obligations. I am so thankful for 40 years of newswriting, because it helps me write very fast. But I find as I get older that it takes more quiet for me to be able to concentrate. Mornings for me are ideal for writing.

But the bottom line is, it will get done. Sooner or later.

It’s all good.

 

Ambient Noise for Ambient Boys

Posted: June 6, 2012 in Writer's block, Writing
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When my two kids were in high school, I used to get amused by how they went about doing their homework. My daughter, specifically, would turn on the TV, have earbuds in with her favorite music, have friends calling her on her phone, and have one or possibly two textbooks open. I was amazed that she could concentrate on anything. But then I thought back to how I was as a teenager and it didn’t seem so strange.

I teach a class in Interpersonal Communication, and one of the topics I discuss is the relationship students have with media. When I suggest the possibility of one of them going camping alone in the woods for a week without any radio, TV, newspaper or reading material, music or person to talk to, I get a lot of students upset. Usually their first reaction is “That’s not safe!” And my reaction is, “People have been doing without media for thousands of years.”

I am not so naive as to think that writers today can isolate themselves from media, but I think in many cases it helps. What do you do to help you focus? I ask that question seriously, because I find as I get older it is getting harder to focus. I do a lot of multitasking at work, and can write an article or story under duress if need be, but I prefer to make the environment as conducive to creative concentration as possible.

So what’s your ideal environment? For me, I prefer to put on Pandora, specifically to music without singing (or at least words I understand). Singing makes me want to focus on what is being sung, where instrumental doesn’t. My ideal type of music is classical, and my ideal, ideal is Franz Liszt or Yo-Yo Ma. Piano music and cello music seems soothing to me and helps me concentrate.

Other writers tend to choose music that puts them in specific moods. My goal is simply to be able to think.

OK, it’s time to compare notes. What helps you?

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