Nearing the end

We are nearing the end of SoCNoC. *Cue ominous music* I'm in the 'last minute' writing group.  My worst fear is that the writer’s block I have been plagued with will come back to haunt me over this last weekend, ripping my word count to shreds.  I'm all about prevention, and I think the first step to solving a problem is figuring out why you have it in the first place.  So, what is writer’s block and why does it occur? 

Merriam-webster.com defines writer's block as: a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece of writing.  Great.  That makes me sound like some kind of psycho-nut-job.  But writer's block is not a disease.  It’s not a reoccurring illness.  It’s not even a virus that spreads from writer to writer.  Although it can seem like the above.

Dictionary.com defines it as: a usually temporary condition in which a writer finds it impossible to proceed with the writing of a novel, play, or other work.  Temporary.  That's right.  It's just temporary.  I like that.  Although bouts of it have been known to plague writers for long periods of time, the point is that it is just a block and not a complete inability to ever write again, even if it can feel like that sometimes.

Now that we know what writer's block is, how do we figure out why we are struck with it?  Unfortunately, there is no one cause that I know of.  There are however a few possible reasons for writers block that may help you diagnose your problem, therefore allowing you to take the next step to solving it.

1) You're bored.  That's right, as wonderful as your imagination can be, sometimes your work can get boring.  Not your whole novel or short story, obviously.  But sometimes a particular scene can leave you stumped simply because it is not particularly exciting.  Maybe it’s a necessary bridging scene that needs some spicing up.  Whatever the reason for the 'boring patch', perhaps you could skip ahead to a more interesting scene.

2) You're not relating to your character(s).  A severe bout of writers block I had was due to this.  My main character irritated me.  It got to the point where I couldn't stand her.  It meant that I stopped enjoying writing and if you're not enjoying it, the words won’t flow.  My solution?  I switched to the POV of another character.

3) Creative burnout.  This occurs frequently during SoCNoC.  We put a lot of effort into getting those words out.  So much so that we get burnt out.  Some people write their best stuff when they are tired but if you've been writing for hours and nothing is coming, it might be time to take a break.  SLEEP.  Take a day off.  Relax a bit.  You deserve it.

4) You've run out of ideas.  This one is a bit of a nonsense.  There's no such thing.  Ideas don't come from a magical fountain that suddenly has a drought.  Ideas come from everywhere.  As long as we exist, there are ideas to be found.  WE just have to look in the right places.

5) You don't know what is going to happen next in your novel.  Characters drive plot.  If you’re stuck for ideas, turn to your characters.  Ask them what they want to do next?  Maybe I'm a little odd (In fact I know am) but I talk to my characters.  When a scene I wasn't expecting occurs in my novel, it is because a character has decided to take a course of action that I wasn't expecting.  So sit down and have a chat with your characters.  Find out what they want to do.  What they will actually do (there's usually a difference) and go from there.

6) You've finished your novel at 40,000 words and you don't know what to do next.If you're in this position, congrats.  You've successfully survived the beginning, middle and end of your novel.  But you want it to be longer?  Completely understandable.  Try introducing a new character.  Expand on a scene.  Create a new conflict.  Find a subplot.  All these things can give your potential readers a richer reading experience.

7) You're scared.  Terrified in fact.  What if what you are writing is a load of crap?  What if no-one wants to read it?  It's easy to let the doubts eat away at your until all your words have been chewed up.  But really, what's the worst that could happen?  If someone doesn't like your work, who really cares?  In the end you should be writing for yourself and because you enjoy it.  Leave everyone else out of the equation and hopefully the fear will go away.

Good luck to everyone who is, like me, in danger of being swallowed up by writer's block.  Push on through to the end of June and hopefully we'll all have a wonderful accomplishment (whether we reach 50,000 words or not!) to look back on.