Every Scar a Story
I am going to be a bit prescriptive today because, as my sister NoViolet would say, this is my blog, and as I would add, you are my readers.
How about this as a way to deal with writer's block: When you find yourself staring at a blank screen, or when each word you type comes out painfully, and as long as we are on pain, look at yourself and try to see if you have scars. I have quite a few of those--growing up in Mazvihwa came with many scars (of adventure, let's say).
Try to remember the orgin of each scar, and tell the story. Those used to writing fiction already know that there is almost nothing called autobiographical fiction because the moment you write that first sentence about the origins of your scar, the story is likely to take a direction you had no idea you wanted to go. Remember to look at the scar frequently as you write, but allow the story to determine its course. Populate it with characters and a point of view. You must also remember that even if you use the first person singular POV, that person on the page is not you, even if he or she shares the same scar with you.
Maybe four days later, three thousand words later, you may have a complete story, and you would have forgotten about your writer's block and have started thinking about revising the novel you have been writing since 1999 and have not finished because you don't want to. Revise it though; delete five pages, and add five more, and whatever you do, keep the length at 560 pages--it's supposed to be a long novel, because you have been writing it since 1999. It's bound to become the Moby Dick of your country, state, province, country, district, village.
Remember to move on to the next scar. Maybe its on the leg. Make that leg a character, and have it tell its story, then later, you can replace the word 'leg' with 'blank', which is a real name of a character. But you can only do that once you have accumulated 2000 to 3000 words of another story, triggered by a scar, starting off as a story about yourself, but changing later, if you want, to someone's story.
This works. Each scar a story. Don't let those scars go to waste.
How about this as a way to deal with writer's block: When you find yourself staring at a blank screen, or when each word you type comes out painfully, and as long as we are on pain, look at yourself and try to see if you have scars. I have quite a few of those--growing up in Mazvihwa came with many scars (of adventure, let's say).
Try to remember the orgin of each scar, and tell the story. Those used to writing fiction already know that there is almost nothing called autobiographical fiction because the moment you write that first sentence about the origins of your scar, the story is likely to take a direction you had no idea you wanted to go. Remember to look at the scar frequently as you write, but allow the story to determine its course. Populate it with characters and a point of view. You must also remember that even if you use the first person singular POV, that person on the page is not you, even if he or she shares the same scar with you.
Maybe four days later, three thousand words later, you may have a complete story, and you would have forgotten about your writer's block and have started thinking about revising the novel you have been writing since 1999 and have not finished because you don't want to. Revise it though; delete five pages, and add five more, and whatever you do, keep the length at 560 pages--it's supposed to be a long novel, because you have been writing it since 1999. It's bound to become the Moby Dick of your country, state, province, country, district, village.
Remember to move on to the next scar. Maybe its on the leg. Make that leg a character, and have it tell its story, then later, you can replace the word 'leg' with 'blank', which is a real name of a character. But you can only do that once you have accumulated 2000 to 3000 words of another story, triggered by a scar, starting off as a story about yourself, but changing later, if you want, to someone's story.
This works. Each scar a story. Don't let those scars go to waste.
Comments
I have a dreaded 'Moby Dick', perhaps most writers have at least one on the simmer. Stephen King's was 'The Dark Tower' series. Some stories do need maturing, but it can also just be procrastination.
@ Ivor: I know you are one of the busiest people on this planet, but you are very prolific too. As for Moby Dick, well, I got hooked when I took a Melville & Hawthorne class. Quite overwhelming, but I'm sure the two giants must have left an indelible mark in my creativity.
Best,
JD