I talked to a writer yesterday who is stuck. She has been stuck for years\u2014having never put more than a few hundred words down on paper during that time. Yet, she studies, she plans and she dreams of one day seeing her story in book form. But she doesn\u2019t write. She says she just can\u2019t break through the tendency to procrastinate. And she asked me if others have this problem.<\/p>\n
I started thinking about this strange (to me) phenomenon of wanting to write\u2014even having the skills\u2014but just not doing it. While it is foreign to me, I actually get similar questions from others, occasionally. Authors will say, \u201cI just can\u2019t make myself sit down and finish my novel.\u201d <\/p>\n
Here are my suggestions for those who are suffering from any form of writer\u2019s block. This might include those who are temporarily blocked as well as those who haven\u2019t written a word in years.<\/p>\n
I believe that there has to be a strong enough motivation for a writer to write. For me, initially, I had to justify the time I spent doing what I love\u2014writing. And I did so by pursuing publication. I guess that, while I\u2019m driven (it\u2019s 4:45 a.m. as I write this, for example), I felt that writing for writing\u2019s sake was a bit frivolous, so I was motivated to get my writing published in order to prove (to myself) that I was spending my time doing something worthwhile. <\/p>\n
Other writers might have different motivations:
\n\u2022\ta strong desire to help others through their stories.<\/p>\n
\u2022\ta need to be heard\/read.<\/p>\n
\u2022\t a longing for greater understanding of self and others through the process of writing. <\/p>\n
\u2022\ta need to earn money through writing. <\/p>\n
I tell people who feel stuck\u2014who can\u2019t seem to focus on their projects at hand\u2014to write something else. And this is what I told the writer yesterday. Maybe you\u2019re trying to write your memoirs or some other emotionally-charged story. If you find yourself procrastinating, perhaps it is because you are not ready to relive an event of your past. Instead of quitting, take a break from your primary project and write something else\u2014a humorous piece, poetry, a how-to based on something that interests you or a companion booklet to your primary project. For example, you could come out with a booklet of family recipes and tell a story about how they each came about. Compile a booklet of resources for something related to your initial story\u2014resources for parents with an autistic child, for people who own handicapped pets, for caretakers of the elderly, etc.<\/p>\n
If you are stuck on a book project, write a few articles or stories in your genre. This is highly recommended as a way to build your platform, anyway\u2014for when you finally do produce your book. <\/p>\n
Start a blog and post to it regularly. Imagine that there are visitors who depend on the wisdom or frivolity in your blog every day. Write for them\u2014so as not to disappoint them.<\/p>\n
Likewise, maybe if you think about your audience instead of your own emotions, weariness, disinterest or whatever, you will spend more time writing. Don\u2019t you owe it to your audience to provide them with the information in your book? Wasn\u2019t your primary reason for writing this book to help people or to entertain them? By not writing it, you are letting them down. Perhaps this mindset will help you to break through the tendency to procrastinate.<\/p>\n
Everyone procrastinates sometimes. We all avoid projects, at least for brief time periods. We all experience minor blocks. But if you haven\u2019t written anything in months or years and you truly have a book you want to write, consider my message this morning.<\/p>\n
If you need more strict guidance, I would suggest the following:
\n\u2022\tJoin a writers group and participate fully.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tSet aside one hour per day to write and follow through.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tEngage a writing buddy or mentor.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tIf you can\u2019t work on your project, write something else\u2014a children\u2019s story, a poem, an account of a recent outing or trip.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tPurchase a book of writing prompts and use it every day.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tLocate writing prompts online\u2014use keyword, \u201cwriting prompts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visit my websites: I talked to a writer yesterday who is stuck. She has been stuck for years\u2014having never put more than a few hundred words down on paper during that time. Yet, she studies, she plans and she dreams of one day seeing her story in book form. But she doesn\u2019t write. She says she just can\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> (sign up for a free book.)
\n http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"