Hi all, I'm sure everyone here has experienced the dull ache of writer's block and painful 'hitting a brick wall' moment in writing.
I'm currently editing my novel (about third draft), and I'm losing the will to live today.
I've already taken a long break from my own work, I've taken some notes from others, and I still feel like I'm fighting that brick wall. Does anyone have any good tips for breaking down said wall? Or tips for motivation? For killing that horrible demon of self-doubt and self-loathing?
I really want to submit for a midway review next week and at this rate I just don't see it happening.
Thanks to any responses
Hi, Amy.
I suggest reading as a way to clear writer's block. Read widely, but ensure you soak yourself in novels that are in your chosen genre.
To get my juices flowing I will read a few chapters of a novel before I start writing.
Another tip is to leave your latest piece of writing unfinished, then the next time you pick up your pen you will be able to continue without fear of writer's block.
I hope that helps.
Good luck.
May I suggest your use one of those 'read back' programmes? I have an English 'lady' read my work back to me - it is very illuminating! Her name is Emily and I can have her read slowly or I can speed her up.
I mention 'English' as there are many 'read back' programmes with an American accent and they often come with North American punctuation - not what I want!
Edward
You're lost in the minutiae, and you can't see the whole, Amy. It took me years to write my first novel ( I'm hoping the second will be quicker, but can't promise that!). What finally sorted it out for me was to read the whole thing from start to finish on paper, without stopping or skipping. If something felt wrong, I highlighted it. If it was really vital to change it to make sense of the following chapters, I did so. If not I carried on.
I made a note of what happened in each chapter, so that I had a plan of the novel from beginning to end, and instead of what I'd planned to write, I knew what I had actually written. That way I also knew if there was an imbalance in size of chapter or scene, or if scenes were in the wrong order.
It really did help to strip it all down to basics and then see if it worked as a whole (and if not, why not). We learn our craft as we go along, and doubts are permitted. After all, we are everything - the writer, the plotter, the editor, the critic. It's not like we work in an office with people who have different specialities to contribute: we're all there is.
Self-editing is so hard to do; you know the book backwards, forwards and inside out and as with anything, looking over the same thing over and over becomes a chore. What's worse, we miss the fact that actually we read what we think we've written, which isn't necessarily waht's on the page. Produce the book in a different format - on your e-reader is good, because it change the physical size of the page, and you can only read one small part at a time: much harder to skim. Otherwise, a different font, or a different colour, can help. If you have dialogue, read it out loud. Does it work? Is it natural? Reading with your ears, as it were, really does change things. The same goes for any sentences that don't seem quite right.
Above all, don't despair. What you think, after so much close attention, is not what the next reader will think, coming to the novel for the first time. We as writers offer up ourselves on those pages; after all, everything there comes from inside us. But the reader only sees and judges the words, not the person behind them.
The point of the midway review is to tell you if it's working; it's asking for constructive criticism or praise. Give yourself a break, and send it off as planned. The result will be guidance of one sort or another, and that's what you need right now.
Best of luck - and don't give up!
Lorraine