Hello friends! As I write this, I’m sending you wishes of health and wellness. How are you all faring amid the ongoing pandemic? Today, I wanted to delve into writer’s challenges, specifically, writer’s block, draft revisions, and insecurity and fear.
First, before touching on writer’s challenges with writer’s block, how many of you are hindered in your work, whatever that trade may be, by covid? Or is it smooth sailing? And writers, do you find ideas flowing, stagnant, or the same in the current world’s state? My writing so far has remained consistent, but only with my usual efforts. If your writing is stagnant, below I’m sharing some of my creativity boosters.
The first writer’s block cure is to take a walk. Fresh air, and changing your surroundings really get the creative juices flowing. I noticed a beautiful house while walking, which became a character’s home in a new novel I am working on. On that same walk, a turtle sadly gone road-kill turned into one paragraph in the same story.
A second tactic I use for writer’s block is to start writing or journaling about any topic. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by your content once you put pen to paper. I found this excellent read on writers block, with the perspectives of several talented authors, who share useful ideas in moving past the block and into action. What do you do to maneuver through writer’s block?
The next writer’s challenge is revisions. Dun Dun Dun. You say you are on draft seven or eight, eh? That’s all?! We all dread revisions (sometimes), but have you noticed that once you determine how to improve your draft you are eager to revise? Okay, maybe eager is not the word, but ‘willing’. I know after several revisions, your book might as well be written in gibberish, and you no longer have any idea if it’s good. This is where beta readers and critique partners come in handy. That, and stepping away from the book for a short time, and coming back to it, help me. Nathan Bransford wrote a nice blog post about Revision Fatigue. Also, as you revise here is a helpful blog post I wrote on Keeping a Novel Interesting.
Lastly, we all have insecurities and fears. And that’s okay. As writers, we wonder if we are talented enough, if our ideas are story worthy, and we fear rejection.
But remember, writing is for the strong of mind and broad of heart.
And, on a more practical note, I think it’s key to remember people’s reading tastes are subjective. Most writers are readers, so we understand this, or at least we should. I mean it takes everything in me to read one non-fiction book a year because my tastes veer towards fiction, but after, I’ve usually learned something interesting and important.
Additionally, some may believe they’ve past their peak to achieve a dream or goal. Check this Writer’s Digest article out for a fantastic take on that: Confessions of a late bloomer. And here’s another one by Roxane Gay from The New York Times’ Ask Roxane. Though it sounds cliche, it is never too late to follow your dreams. You must believe in them fiercely.
I’ll leave you with a ‘light’ read on why some people burn their books. Too bad this wouldn’t work in the present day when most people type out their manuscripts on a computer. There’s no way I am throwing my computer into a fire, and it’d be useless since the novel would be backed up on a cloud drive. If your story isn’t good, click ‘select all’ and ‘delete’. But always save a backup copy, because you might regret it.
Thanks for stopping by friends. Hope this blog post on writer’s challenges was helpful to you. Blog ya later!