Monday, August 1, 2011

Get a literary Prius

Sputter. Sputter. Sput. Sput. Sput.

Your writing engine just died. The pen stopped and the paper stretches on for seventeen notebooks. Crud.

You gotta finish though, right? It's fairly important, this ridiculous thing called writing. And, for many of us, it pays the bills.

So, what happens when you're cruising along the margins, admiring your penmanship (penwomanship), smiling as the characters do lovely and not so lovely things to one another, and then your story stalls? You could get an oil change, or fix your tires. But, really, what if all you need is a new car?

No, I'm not talking about a new story. I'm not talking about taking a leak, and I'm not talking about replacing your pencil. I'm talking about a new perspective: that might be your Prius--half writer, half real person.

If you're stuck in the pot-holes of your story, hybrid or not, even if you've just finished a great chapter, you must wonder what to do next. Is it possible to lose the magic? Could you actually break the mechanics of your story if you make a wrong move? It is certainly possible. Thus, you can do a couple of things: either write through it, or do something else.

I, my lovely thousands of readers, usually opt for the latter. That doesn't mean that you can't, but sometimes it just gets to be a lot of crap before you hit gold. So, how about hang out with those creatures called "friends", see a movie, or by the G-d's powers, read?

And that is what you'll need to think about. Change up your vehicle--either by turning down another road, or looking through the eyes of a different windshield. Either way, you should put some thought into it, otherwise writer's block, no matter what form it is, if it exists, will keep blocking you from that Pulitzer.

Now, back to work. Drive that car to the finish line.

-JK out.

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