Motivation for July - Writer's Terror!

Is writer’s block just that? Let me word it another way: Is there really such a thing as writer’s block? I have never liked that term. I know I can write when I put my mind to it. There are so many characters and stories in my mind, waiting to get out, that it’s not for lack of material.

Then there were the times that I was drained physically or emotionally that, try as I might, it didn’t seem I had enough emotion to write into my character’s lives. At one point, I even felt the Lord’s gentle voice telling me to “rest”—at least from writing fiction—and I began to write devotionals for a time. That was a good learning experience for me.

After I became unemployed again in early February, I thought how great it would be to have plenty of time to work on my writing. However, that was part of my problem. I no longer had to reserve my writing time for twenty minutes or so at Starbucks before work, or during lunch and hope to find additional time on the weekend. I had a whole day before me, so why not start with coffee and email, then write a blog post. When I was done with all that I needed to get going and run errands, clean or cook. Before I knew it, another day was gone and I would go to sleep with thoughts in my head of how wonderful it would be to write tomorrow.

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch {PD in the US}

Some days I accomplished a little, but what was stopping me from digging in and racking up those word counts? I read books that encouraged writers to keep writing, saying encouraging me to write over 2,000 words a day, that it wasn’t that difficult. I took the advice of keeping a writing appointment each day, but still wasn’t making the kind of progress I wanted.

Each day I would look at that rectangle of white on the screen and the words rolled around in my mind, but they didn’t make it quickly onto the page. I’d ask myself where I should start or what should come next, but I would begin with trepidation. Only after I had taken some time and worked myself into the “zone” was I able to relax.

What was causing this block to my productivity? Fear caused my lack of confidence and snail like pace. My internal editor was on high alert and critical of everything.  The fear of failure lurked within, holding me back.

Then I decided to read Jim Denney’s, Writing in Overdrive, where he hypothesizes that some of the world’s greatest writers did their best work in compressed amounts of time, giving themselves to the pure joy of writing. Hmm . . . I’d also read over and over that if you write a first draft, you give yourself something to work with—it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time around.

Talking with other inspirational writers who were very productive, I was invited to participate in a group, which keeps you accountable for daily word count, but most importantly, they prayed for me. It was the first time in my writing life I prayed a different way for my productivity—and for others’.

Making a word count goal for the month, giving it to the Lord and sharing it with others made a difference. I started to take off and really enjoy writing again. No longer was it a mechanical process to be feared, but a story freely taking shape. Mind you, my draft will need plenty of editing and rewriting, but I have another novel manuscript first draft nearly finished.

What made the most difference in curing my writer’s terror? Accountability, prayer and allowing myself to enjoy writing again each played a big part. I still have my slower days, but pushing and challenging myself to a larger word count than usual helped turn writer’s terror into creative productivity.

May you go and achieve even more!

Leave a comment or follow for a chance to win Brave New Century this week!

Monday Motivation - Under Their Skin

Under Their Skin

Last week I wrote about how writers often choose how a character looks before they decide much of

anything else. We creative types typically picture a character before fleshing out everything else about them. So we have our shell, an exoskeleton, if you will. Analogies break down after awhile.

Underneath the skin are a lot of physical components of the human body. We can actually see some of our veins under the surface, feel the tendons, joints and bones. We can flex our muscles. Let’s think about our musculoskeletal system for a moment. Without these important parts, we would be blobs of flesh, going nowhere. 

Now, what gets our characters moving? How about motivation? What is motivating them to move forward in the story? Are they running from danger? Are they lonely and looking for their soul mate? A young man trying to escape the grip of pirates who have boarded the ship where he is cabin boy, will be different from that of an orphan looking for a family. Or will it? This could be two separate stories—or one. What if the pirates ask him to join and it’s the closest thing he’s ever had to family. Yet, he knows they’re bad people. Now we have a conflict too! Really we have both interior and exterior conflicts. He wants to get away, but they’re seeking to recruit him, make him feel like part of the gang.

bing.com/images {PD} 

I’m only scratching the surface here. Next week I’d like to discuss personality types and tools to help make a good match. Our characters have many layers and we need to get to find out what makes them tick? What is at their core? Sometimes it takes awhile to get to know a character well enough to make these decisions, but greater depth will make a difference. You don’t want your protagonist to be a paper doll, but instead to give your reader the picture of a living breathing person who they can identify with.  We may get bored with paper dolls and put them back in the drawer after awhile, but you want to know more about real people, don’t you?

Food for thought: Think about what motivates your favorite book characters and compare that to your own characters. How can you give your characters more depth?

Monday Motivation - Becoming a More Productive Writer

"Secrets" to Becoming a More Productive Writer

What is the secret to becoming a more productive writer? (Tweet this.) 

1) Make it a priority to make time for writing.

2) Write.

Let me restate that: Find what works best for you and show up for your writing appointment. Write.

Not much of a secret, you say? No, but it’s what you have to experience on your own.

As I’ve taken time, especially this year, to find out what is keeping me from becoming more productive, I’ve learned some things about myself. In all my years of family life, caring for my husband, children and parents, I set writing time on a pedestal as some unattainable, ethereal reward from another realm. It became something I didn’t deserve to do, because I had to get everything else. Done. First. I felt somehow if I didn’t I was being selfish.

Yet every time I heard a sermon on the Parable of the Talents, where the frightened servant buries the money given to him, I would wonder if that’s what I was doing with my writing. God gave me a desire, a love for stories and words, which I put on hold, and sometimes rightly so, but sometimes out of fear. I feared not writing something perfect, not being good enough. I feared what others thought.

There are times and seasons, but there are also moments we can seize—times when husbands can watch children for a couple of hours on a weekend, when we could leave early for work and write for a half hour at a coffee shop on the way to work. If you’re a homeschooling mom, as I was, what about taking a half hour at lunchtime while the kids read on their own or watch an educational video to do some writing or just some brainstorming on your own? If this is what God has given you to do, it’s all right to give yourself permission to take the time and enjoy it.

I had to learn to give myself permission to enjoy my writing, whether it was good or bad. I am still working and struggling through this, not allowing my perfectionism to slow me down or keep me from sitting down and writing. But one thing I have learned over these last few weeks of purposefully making new goals and attempting to follow through, I am making better progress, because I am planning for it. I’m not waiting for it to happen. Some. Day.

Last week, I decided to take the challenge my friend gave me not to check email

or social media before I reached my word count. I started the week with a 1,000 per day word goal and ended with a 500 a day word goal. I lost my resolve and started checking email when I thought it was important or at least after 500 words. Sigh.

However, I made it to 3500+ words last week. Yay! This week, I will have some research, editing and rewriting to do, but I am hoping to at least reach this word count. I will be happy to reach between 500 and 1000 new words each day, so we’ll see.

My advice to you: Start small with a goal you can attain. (Tweet this.) Can you put aside two hours this week to do research for a story you’re writing? Can you make a goal to write 500 words each day? 250 words? Can you set aside five days to do some writing? Three days? One day? It’s okay, no matter how big or how small, make it a goal you will strive for and achieve. Then show up, write and rejoice in the progress you are making!

What are you working on that you would like to make progress on this week? What are your goals? Please share!

Writing Prompt:  Sunshine on a cold winter’s day makes me feel . . .

MONDAY MOTIVATION

On the Write Path

I hope you will pardon another play on the word “write”. These next few posts will break down different aspects of the writing journey and encourage you to know you’re not alone. You’re not the only one with delusions of publishing grandeur!

The novice begins their trip down the writing road with a light load, usually. The two things he packs are dreams and something to write with. You may start with a pen and a notebook. My writing professor in college encouraged us to use legal pads to write our first through third drafts, but that was back during the days of the typewriter. You might have been lucky enough to have a correction ribbon on your Smith Corona or your Royal. Since the dawn of word processing, the writer has more options. He can now write with a PC or laptop and still make corrections without having to type the whole document over.

However, the novice, often starry-eyed, may believe they are ready to pen or type that first draft of a fabulous piece of literature, which many agents and editors will be vying for the chance to read. Just try to hold back that bidding war over their one-of-a-kind novel, destined for the New York Times' bestseller list!

Others may be more realistic, setting their goals a little lower, hoping to see their name in bold font at the top of a few magazine articles. They’re just trying to get their name out into the sea we call the publishing world, while they build a portfolio.

The Christian novice writer has a whole other level of concern, because she wants to convey a message she feels the Lord has put on her heart, or help people understand biblical truths that are bursting to escape onto paper. It’s a joy for the novice to write the things they need to share, but is sometimes also difficult.

At some point novices may find themselves overwhelmed. At my first large Christian writer’s conference, in Wheaton, Illinois, I seemed to be surrounded by authors who seemed to know where they were going and what they were doing.  I felt like a fake. I found myself in Ken Wales’ class on story. Me? Really? How could little old me ever think of writing a screenplay? But the Lord gave me a gentle nudge, whispering messages of the need to trust and believe that He could use anyone He chose to do anything.

I still haven’t finished a longer screenplay, but I took away something more precious from that conference—the belief that the Lord could use my humble attempt at being a writer any way He chose. He had given the gift and desire. Was I willing to use it? 

Have you ever had a moment of clarity and guidance like that during your

journey down the write path?

Next Monday: The Reality Stage

MONDAY MOTIVATION

CHARACTER EXPLORATION

Have fun with your characters. When you get stuck, try a little exercise. I start by praying for God’s leading. Close your eyes and see your character. Where is he/she? Think about the sights, sounds and smells around them, putting yourself in their shoes. Now, what is your character doing? Talking to someone? Looking for something? Painting a picture or just a wall? Playing a musical instrument? Running down a road?

You may find new things out about your character you never thought of before. I had a character, who had a lost love she hadn’t told me about before. He returned to her life. I wound up with a whole new twist to my plot. My character actually winds up marrying this lost love, who becomes a stepfather to her son. This complicates family relationships and holds her back for a time from making important decisions she needs to make about her commitment to God.

It’s funny how a simple five or ten minute exercise of the imagination can help breathe new life into a story, give more depth to a character and guide them down paths we hadn’t originally planned.

Do you have a “stuck” two-dimensional character that needs to have more depth of “life” breathed into them? 

Last week's prompt

I took about five minutes to write about last week's prompt,

which was fresh-baked bread. It led me to reminisce about

my bread baking days, when my sons were younger. Here are

my results, with little editing:

I miss baking bread. When the boys were little, I ground my own white wheat berries in a grain mill, making it into flour. Then I used my mixer with the dough hook to create lovely, pliable dough. The dough had a grainy texture and a nutty taste.

As the dough sat in a warm spot to rise, you could smell the yeast. Then as each loaf baked and was removed from the oven, the scent of honey and wheat blended with the yeasty goodness. I couldn’t wait until it cooled enough to slice and slather with butter. And my boys, big and little lined up for a chance to sample the golden-brown bread. 

Did you use last week's prompt and find it helpful? Here's a new prompt--write

about: Sunshine

WE HAVE A WINNER FOR LAST WEEK'S DRAWING!

Davalynn Spencer is the winner of the Amazon Gift Card! Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who participated!

This week, please leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook edition

of Linda Glaz's Miss Fishfly, which Lily will be reviewing on Wednesday.