Thursday, June 16, 2011

Avoidance

I don't believe in writer's block. I believe we sabotage ourselves, we avoid writing, or we stumble for reasons that hide in our subconscious. If I can't/don't write, it's probably because there's something that isn't working in my piece; I need time away to gain perspective, to figure out what that problem is.

With my novel, I'm slowly getting back. I worked on it a bit yesterday and today, removing a part that had made me uncomfortable, adding more of the teenage character's voice. I think the more I write from her perspective, and the closer I get to her head, the more I'll understand and empathize with her. I'm working extra hours of the library, so I have significantly fewer "writing" days; I need to learn how to make those days count.

As for the blog, I've avoided it because I didn't want to sit down, open up a new post, and realize I have nothing to say. But today I relaxed. Decided I needed to write something, even if it was just about my little struggles.

5 comments:

Abhishek said...

There is no block?? Gotta think about it!!!

Feeling the same for now!!


with warm regards
Another Author

Tonja said...

Have you tried doing morning pages? It's like fastwrites but first thing in the morning and for as long as you need to clear your head. I don't know if that will help - just a thought.

August said...

Good idea -- I may need to do something like that, as I continue to get extra hours at the library. It was a luxury, having three days in the middle of the week to do nothing but write! But my bank account thanks me...

Molly Gaudry said...

How did I find this blog? I don't know, but I follow you in my Google Reader. And I know we have a Cincinnati connection (I graduated from SCPA in '99.) In any case, I'm part of this thing called The Lit Pub, and over on our Facebook wall we post these little questions that a lot of people are using as writing prompts. And we're really interested in reading the essays/stories/poems that are inspired by our "prompts." Our goal is to publish the best responses as stand-alone chapbooks, which we'll give away with every book purchased from our site, so that customers receive more than just the book they ordered. We'd love if you came and checked us out. And I'd also love to know if we actually know each other . . . and I'd love to know how I found your blog some time ago. But in any case, best of luck with your writing. And while I hope you'll come check us out, it's no problem if you don't. Give Cincinnati a hug for me.

August said...

Hi Molly,
Thanks for stopping by! I actually graduated from SCPA in '98, a super shy visual art major. Anyway, your website looks great, and I'll definitely check out your facebook page. Cheers :)