A Few Ways to Beat Writer's Block

 Writer's block is an interesting thing. A friend of mine insists it does not actually exist, and sometimes I agree. But I think there is such a thing as writer's fatigue. It's when you feel like you can't come up with what's going to happen next, or you are just tired of writing. Everyone has probably experienced writer's fatigue/block at least once in their lifetime. So here are a few ways you can combat this so that you can start writing fresh.

Take a break. This is a pretty simple solution. I don't mean don't look at your writing for three months, I mean separate yourself from the computer. Stop staring at the screen, and relax a little bit. Watch a movie, read a book. Come back and you might have a fresh view.

Do something active. Taking a walk, or riding your bike can clear your head up. You may even find yourself inspired in the fresh air.

 Remember. Think back to when the idea sprung, or when you were so excited to get started. What was it? Did a character jump out at you in vibrant life? Did a plot come from nowhere? Think about why you are writing the story, and find that again.

Talk it out. It is extremely helpful to talk to another writer about your frustrations. Or to work out a plot point that is stumping you. This method has been helpful to me many times. If you're a teen, check Go Teen Writers for other writers your age. I've found many friends through the Facebook group, who are great to rant at... or rather talk out the plot with.

Work on another story. Having more than one project can be a good thing. If you need a break from a story, working on another project can help get you motivated again.

Read other people's work. I'm not talking about published authors. I'm talking writers who aren't there yet. Read your friend's book you were supposed to critique three weeks ago, or look up some stories you might like on a fanfiction website. Whenever I read someone else's work, it makes me want to write.

Push through. Sometimes you're in the dry spot between the two rivers of words. If you can just climb past the dry land, you'll find yourself in the words again. If that makes sense. If you push through the tough parts, you'll probably find yourself in a part of the story you enjoy writing more. And you can always go fix those dry areas later during revision. Things that help with writing through the dry spots are Word Wars/sprints. You can find them on Twitter sometimes, on the GTW group on Facebook, on a Word Wars group on Facebook, or you can just get with someone else, choose a certain amount of time to write, and see who writes the most words. Incredibly helpful. There is also a website called Write or Die where you have to keep writing, or there are consequences. That will sure make the brain work!

Keep writing. Whatever you do, don't stop. If you're taking a break, fine. But remember to come back. Your story calls. It needs to be written. Because no one can write this story like you can. You are a unique individual with a unique take. And your story needs to be told.

The Prince's Quest Re-write

 This post will be a little short, but since it's Wednesday for writing... I want to talk about The Prince's Quest. If you've been following this blog for a while, you know this is the story I've been working since 2011. I've referred to it as 'my baby' and it's characters are my favorites. But I hit a slump after I completed the story.

 You see, I had written most of the book by hand, and I have that in a giant binder. I've transitioned to doing more writing by computer now, and the idea of typing up all that hard work... over 50,000 words of it, made me balk.

 It wasn't as if I was trying to be lazy. The fact was, in 2011, my writing was... undeveloped. I mean, it isn't perfect now, but then... It just wasn't ready. So I imagined sitting for hours, typing up that book and wanting to correct the entire time. I felt like it would take too long, and drain me for the story.

 So I put it off. This isn't something you should do. Putting things off accomplishes nothing. But I did. I focused on other projects, while continuing my torturous deciding.

 Finally, when I knew I had made my poor story wait long enough, I put the question to my friends over at Go Teen Writers. I asked them if I should just type up what I had, or start fresh, remembering the plot I had written. These two choices were the source of my anxiety.

 Much to my actual relief, they all encouraged me to re-write, but use the old work as a guide. I didn't have to throw it out, but I didn't have to type up all those thousands of words either. Once I had someone else's opinion of the matter, I felt a lot better.

 And I can tell you now, that it was the best decision I could have made. I am loving re-writing this story. Now that I have further insight into the story and characters than I did as a fifteen-year-old NaNoWriMo participant, I can really dig deep, and tell the story like I meant it to be told all along. I am so happy to be re-writing, and I may even be starting to enjoy it more than the first draft process.

 So thank you, to everyone at Go Teen Writers for encouraging me to continue, even when I felt like it was a heavy load. Thank you to my readers for wanting this story. And thank you God for giving it to me.

~ a rambling author

100-4-100 Challenge.

 I'm off to an assembly this entire week! But I prepared my blog post ahead of time, so ya'll would have something. I wanted to share with ya'll something special today.

 

 The 100 for 100 Challenge is something I've participated in both previous times it was done. It is a wonderful thing for writers, challenging them to write 100 words for 100 days. This really helps you to be productive. The rules of the challenge restrict you from working on more then one project for the challenge, so you actually get something done, and don't just have 100 beginnings! ;) If you're a writer, or interesting in trying to be a writer, I heartily recommend joining me on the 100 for 100 challenge! 

 The link for sign ups is here. 

~ a rambling author

Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson: What it Means to Write a Bad First Draft and a Giveaway!

by Stephanie Morrill

You've likely heard writers talk about writing "bad first drafts." This is something I first learned about in Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, the idea that you can make more progress in writing by not worrying about every teensy-tiny detail and editing each scene until it's perfect, but instead by writing a bare bones first draft and then going back to revise.

Not all writers do this, but for those of us who write bad firsts, I think it begs the question of, "How bad can a useful first draft be?"

The bones of the story should be there on the page.

When you finish your first draft, the elements of the story should be there. Maybe a couple characters are flat, that plot twist isn't quite there yet, and the ending is rushed, but you should have something you can work with and shape. Like a lump of Play-Doh that you're trying to mold - the Play Doh has to be there before you can make it into anything. Maybe your character's black moment still needs to be darker but you should have what you need to shape it into a black moment.

If the story bones aren't there yet, then your first priority should be to write them. Because you don't want to spend a bunch of time tweaking descriptions of your main character's school if you haven't yet figured out how your story is going to end.

It should be a length you can work with.

Some writers are putter-inners and some are taker-outers. By which I mean some naturally write long and have to cut back their words and others write bare bones and have to go in and flesh out their stories. If you're writing in hopes of getting published, you'll need to pay attention to what word count you want to hit, and then figure out where your first draft needs to be.

I'm a putter-inner. So I know that if I want my book to be 90,000 words, I need a first draft around 77 to 80,000 words long. My friend Roseanna White is a taker-outer so for a first draft of 100,000 words, she knows she needs to reign herself in around 110,000 or so.

You should still like the story.

When I finish a first draft, I usually feel pretty drained. I've been pushing myself hard to finish, and I'm ready for a break. I try to take six weeks off after my first draft. When I come back to it, I need to still like it. I see lots of things that need fixing, but I should also see promise and feel excited about edits. If I don't, I'm in trouble.

This has only happened to me once where I finished a first draft, reread it six weeks later, and had a good long cry because the book was just so bad. I put the book away and I've never pulled it back out. During that six weeks off, I had the idea for Me, Just Different, and I saw a lot more promise in it than I did this other story. I decided not to torture myself with edits for this other book, to move on to Skylar and Connor, and I've never regretted it.

So what can be bad?

So what elements of a first draft are okay to be really, truly bad? Here's a list of what typically needs the most work in my edits:

• My prose. I'm a dialogue girl, so my dialogue is normally decent but my prose needs a lot of smoothing. You might be the opposite.
• The voice of my "other" characters. They usually all sound the same, like afterthoughts.
• Drab action beats. My characters do a lot of smiling, sighing, and chuckling in first drafts. I have to clean all that up.
• Lame twists or surprises. Sometimes I come up with something great in the first draft, but more often than not, I have to work for a more unique twist or surprise connection in the second draft.
• A rushed pace. Again, I'm a putter-inner, so I typically have a manuscript that sounds very rushed. I have to slow things down and describe more in my second drafts.

Edits can feel overwhelming, but it's become one of my favorite parts of the writing process, and the same goes for Jill too. Which is why we felt drawn to writing a book to help with edits, Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft into a Published Novel. Today we're giving away a free download of the book! You can enter to win by using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson have written a combined two dozen speculative and contemporary novels for teens. They also blog obsessively at www.goteenwriters.com. When not writing or blogging, they can be found at the teen table at writer's conferences or wherever chocolate is being given away. Come hang out with Stephanie at www.stephaniemorrill.com and Jill at www.jillwilliamson.com.>