Writer's Block is Real and there is Only One Cure.

Good morning!

Anyone who sets out to write a story longer than fifty words is going to run into an ailment authors and writers know all too well: Writer's Block.

Whether you stare at the screen and nothing comes to mind, or you just can't seem to sit down to actually write, it doesn't matter.  The inability to move forward with your story is simply a case of writer's block.

I am currently suffering from an odd strain of the illness myself:  It's not that I don't know what to write, and it's not that I can't find the time. Quite simply, I don't want to write because I don't want to do to my characters what I have to do to move the plot along.  It's a rare strain of writer's block, but still, there it is.  I am blocked. I am physically not moving forward with my writing.

So what is the cure?

Some will say to change your location.  If you write at home, go to a coffee shop, a 24 hour diner, someplace where the people and noise are different. Also...coffee.

Some will say get physical. Go for a walk, a swim, a run (if that's your thing, I don't personally run. I will be the first person eaten in a zombie apocalypse.)

Some will say take a break from writing and come back when the spirit moves you. I did that. I was gone from writing for more than ten years.  I do not recommend taking that long of a break.

One writer friend of mine suggested writing at a different time of day. I tend to be more productive late at night. However, the older I get the harder that is.  So, my writer friend said, try writing early in the morning...like at 4 AM.

Ummm, yeah. Thanks, but...no.  As my many, many, many aerobics instructors will tell you, Sarah is NOT at her best at 4 AM.  (or 4 PM, come to think of it. I'm really a night owl who functions okay between 7 AM and noon, just enough to hold down a job as long as my work hours don't go too far past noon. Which is a problem for my boss, who expects me to work until at least 3PM.)

So what's the cure?

Well, there really isn't a cure. Sorry.

Any one of those suggestions above can, and have, worked for me in the past.  Again, I do not recommend taking ten years off. That's not the way to get things done.

Now that I've gotten a couple novels under my belt, I realize that there's really only one way to get past writer's block.


It's actually sort of a simple thing, but it's the solution we forget as writers. We ignore what is staring straight in our over-caffeinated (or wine-soaked, depending on the time of day you write) faces.

We must write.

We must write ourselves out of the block.

Even if it's crap, and believe me, I've thrown away more pages than I care to count in the name of writer's block, we need to continue the act of writing.

If we aren't, we are rusting.  The brain's creative faucet slows to a stop, and we become just one more person who "would write a novel if I just had the time."

Maybe shake up your characters. Make them take a trip, put them on a bus with strangers.  Give them a disease.  Burn down a building.  Kill someone (but only in your story, killing in real life is wrong).  Hey, it works for soap operas and prime time dramas.  Why can't it work for you?

So yeah, I'm stuck on my fourth Nora Hill novel. I'm stuck mostly because I don't want to end it.  But I'm also stuck because I'm not sitting down and doing it.  And even if I write nonsense that I would never use in a book, I save it to my files because you just never know when what you thought was stupid winds up being the thing that makes your book.   But a story won't get told, a scene won't be seen, a character will not speak until you write it down.

Even if just to delete it all tomorrow.

 

Judging Books by their NEW Covers!

Good afternoon!

It's been some time, I realize I'm woefully behind my blogging these days.  What can I say?  I took my own advice and started writing.  A little.

The last couple weeks have been dedicated to making some BIG changes in my writing life. Not the least of which is this:

If you are reading this blog at It's A Writer's World! please stop. That page was hacked two years ago and chances are you're seeing more spam and weird images than you're seeing actual content from me.  Please move over to It's Just a Writer's World! where I have freshened things up big time and best yet...hasn't been hacked!

When you get to It's JUST a Writer's World you'll notice something is super different on the right hand side of the page.  Yes indeedy.  I updated and upgraded my book covers!  Well, to be totally honest, my friend and fellow author (Although she's a true genius with the romance novels, you should check her out!) Author Kelly Moran gave me several pointers recently and then created my new covers for most of my books because, as she put it, (The books that are in a series should LOOK like they're in a series!)

I could NOT agree more!

You'll also notice THREE new books!  WHOOT !  No, I haven't been writing THAT MUCH, but  again Kelly Moran assembled all three of the Rock Harbor romantic suspense novels into one awesome downloadable books.  (All of my books are available in print and where ever you buy e-books.  Check your favorite e-book store!) 

Then, Ms. Moran created a new, and very awesome cover for my BRAND NEW Nora Hill Novel  Check out Nora's FIRST novel!
(which came out last November, but as I said, I'm a bit behind things.)  You may see different covers for book and e-book, but never fear, Createspace is just a tiny bit behind.

Finally, we have assembled into one book or e-book, all three  Rock Harbor novellas. I'm super excited about this because I actually helped in this process of this project!  I've been saying for a long time that I was going to put these three short, sweet love stories  (REALLY can't call them all romances, sorry.) into one volume and I finally have, with a cover, thanks to my friend Kelly!


I know all the links take you to my amazon author page.  Don't fret!  All the links you could want when it comes to finding me on the web are up there in the top right hand corner.  Oh, and again, all of my books are sold in print on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on the Createspace book store!  (PSST!  If you really want to help an indie author out, buy your print books at Createspace.  Book prices are the same as anywhere else online, but the author gets roughly 100% more in royalties than on Amazon.)


So yes, I've been busy with the writing...but now I should probably go and actually, you know, RIGHT!  Meanwhile, I hope to see you all at the Waukesha Farmer's Market in Waukesha, WI this SATURDAY (July 30) from 8-1.  I'll be there signing and selling my books and just generally hanging out and having a great time!  Special Market pricing on all print books!  10% off ALL BOOKS Before 10 AM!

Blame it on whatever you want, you still have to WRITE!

Hello all!

I collect magnets. The snarkier the magnet the more likely I am to have it on my fridge.  I especially like magnets that talk about a writer's life.  I recently picked up one that says, "Write Drunk, Edit Sober." Now of COURSE I do both in a sober condition.  (I found out long ago I can't type when I'm inebriated...to say my drunk typing looks like monkey's work is an insult to monkeys.)

A few years back a friend of mine gave me a magnet that says, "I hate writing. I love having written." That's a quote from my sound bite sensei, Dorothy Parker.  I have found that quite true the last couple months. The early spring found me tapping away furiously at three separate book projects.  Now, in the last several weeks, I haven't written more than a few thousand words and I probably won't keep any of those.  Two of the three projects I want to have published by year's end.  That may not happen if I don't get my butt in gear.

Sure, I've had a lot going on.  I had hand surgery....twice.  We moved our daughter, our youngest out of town, out of state, to another city to be closer to her fiancee. Oh, and yeah, she also got engaged at 19, so there was that.  I continue to worry and pray for those in my family who are struggling with

mental illnesses, and I struggle with my own sense of purpose and self worth.  

It's when I let all of this pile up in my brain that my couch and Netflix are my solace and the very idea of writing becomes an actual, physical pain.

This summer, however, my mother and I are back on the Farmer's Market circuit, her selling her art and me selling my books. As I talk about my writing I find myself thinking about that quote from Dorothy Parker.  I love talking about the things I've written. The projects I have sitting on my desk, in my inbox, those are the things I need to write and those are the things I loathe and hide from when I get home.  I bury myself under a blanket. I run errands that really don't need doing. I actually cleaned one of the bathrooms in my house...willingly.

My lack of willpower (and that magnet) make me think of so many other talented people, some of whom are reading this blog and some of whom I've parted ways with long ago because I chose one path for my writing and they chose another and somehow that made me evil in their eyes.  There are so many talented story tellers out there who have shelved their work and moved on to simply live life and think, on occasion, about writing they once did.  (And yes, E, I'm talking about you! Finish the book!)  There are others who continue to live the writing life. They go to conferences, they meet people, they drink wine and talk about writing but they never quite finish that project. 

Why?  Why does this happen?  We writers, we have stories in us. We have the tools to take those stories from our brains and share them with the world. Why don't we do it?

Writing itself is a pain in the butt. There's no other way to put it.  Well, wait, there is. Rick Springfield, believe it or no, was once asked how he felt about writing. The person asking the question was talking about writing lyrics, but I believe Rick's response fits all writers:

Preach it, Rick.

"Writing is actually like having a lover.  Sometimes it's incredible and sometimes it can give you a headache." 

I couldn't agree more. Actually, someone needs to put THAT on a magnet for me. There are thousands of stories out there that will never be told because the act of sitting down, focusing, and then actually putting words to paper or screen is actually really, really difficult.  Some shut it out completely.  Some dabble, and put on a great show.  Some take time off and come back to it. And some, and these are the people I really admire because they succeed, very much like my friend Ilona Fridl (who will be guest blogging in the near future again as she has given the world another lovely book) who soldier on, who work every day, and who get it done.

So yeah, I had hand surgery. I moved my young daughter far away.  I got tired. I got sick.  I got worried.  I let that stand in my way.  And I can't do that anymore. I may be on the verge of a new chapter in my writing career and now is not the time to let myself be weighted down by how difficult the job is. I need to get the job done.