Thursday, July 8, 2010

Stuck in the middle with WIP



    Do you ever get stuck while writing? You come to a point in your WIP and you’re not sure where to go next. What do you do? Brainstorm with another writer? Go for a long run? Read a favorite book or watch a favorite movie? What gets your creative juices flowing again?
        
   Always remember what Malcolm Forbes said: “Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.”
   
    Stick to it. Become that diamond.

10 comments:

  1. Yes I do and exercise does help - as does people watching :) always fun

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  2. going for a walk often helps but most of the time when I'm stuck it's because I'm coming at it from the wrong angle. Maybe being stuck is really our muse's way of saying, no, you need to start this next scene here not there.

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  3. Taking a break and reading or discussing it with my critique partners helps me.

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  4. OH, I love that picture!

    When I am stuck, I usually fret about it A LOT. Taking a walk is good, and if I walk with my husband I can whine about my problem, too. (He's very patient.)

    If it's summertime, I find that floating aimlessly in the pool helps (with or without a beverage). Something about that random movement jostles the ideas loose.

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  5. I cry about it. Waste time. Eat junk. And then I try to forget about it. But much as I try, it usually works itself out once I've let it go.

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  6. Loving the picture! I agree with taking some time away. I also like to bounce ideas off of others. Sometimes those things break the spell of blah :)

    Marissa

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  7. Nicole: I'm with you on the exercise. Running especially. I go for a long run and things often work themselves out.

    Marcy: Good point about our muse "talking" to us.

    Nat: I also discuss with crit partner. One time I was stuck and she told me to think about adding a funny scene (it was a very serious novel) and it was just want it needed. So crit partners are awesome.

    Dianne: walks and floating aimlessly in a pool sound awesome, especially the pool given the heat we're having.

    Candyland: Letting go is hard, no? But you're right. Sometimes letting go gives it the space it needs to figure itself out.

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  8. If I get stuck I read in my genre or read out of my genre...LOL

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  10. ah, computer attacked my last comment.
    Heather Kelly and Paul Greci helped me figure stuff out when I got stuck. Very important to have crit partners!

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