Stacey Kade
Oh, this is going to be controversial! But I don't really believe in writer's block. Not as a disease, anyway. It's more a symptom that something is wrong. For me, when it happens (and it does with every book), it's usually due to one of three things:
1) I've tried to make a character do something that's out of character for them, just to suit the vision I have of the scene in my head. Big no-no. And not something I do consciously. But it still happens.
The best example of this is in the early chapters of Queen of the Dead when Will and Alona are fighting about Mina. In my head, I saw Alona crying. But when I tried to write it that way, the scene just stalled out. I couldn't get it right. Then I finally realized that Alona would rather cut off her own finger than cry in this particular situation. Crying=weakness in her mind. And now was not the time to be weak.
I went back to the place where the book/scene last worked, where I felt it clicking, and rewrote from there. Once I fixed that, no problem! :)
2) My conflict has fallen apart. In other words, there's no urgency behind the character's goal or action. Or the main problem has been solved too soon. Ooops.
To fix this, you have to re-examine the goals of the main character and the goals of your villain. Make sure that only one of them can win (this is Deb Dixon's Goal, Motivation, and Conflict in action). And make sure the stakes are high enough that it matters if our hero loses.
It may also be a story question issue. Then I'm asking myself, what is the story about? What problem are they trying to solve?
3) Fear and self-doubt. Specifically, MY fear and self-doubt. I'm afraid of something difficult in this scene or book. Afraid I suck. Afraid people will hate it. Doubting my ability to pull it off.
This is why I firmly believe in Anne Lamott's sh*tty first draft theory. (If you haven't read Bird by Bird, oh, you should.) The theory goes like this: It's okay to make a mess and write a horrible scene. You can always fix it later. Have fun with making a mess! You never know what will come out of it. :)
1) I've tried to make a character do something that's out of character for them, just to suit the vision I have of the scene in my head. Big no-no. And not something I do consciously. But it still happens.
The best example of this is in the early chapters of Queen of the Dead when Will and Alona are fighting about Mina. In my head, I saw Alona crying. But when I tried to write it that way, the scene just stalled out. I couldn't get it right. Then I finally realized that Alona would rather cut off her own finger than cry in this particular situation. Crying=weakness in her mind. And now was not the time to be weak.
I went back to the place where the book/scene last worked, where I felt it clicking, and rewrote from there. Once I fixed that, no problem! :)
2) My conflict has fallen apart. In other words, there's no urgency behind the character's goal or action. Or the main problem has been solved too soon. Ooops.
To fix this, you have to re-examine the goals of the main character and the goals of your villain. Make sure that only one of them can win (this is Deb Dixon's Goal, Motivation, and Conflict in action). And make sure the stakes are high enough that it matters if our hero loses.
It may also be a story question issue. Then I'm asking myself, what is the story about? What problem are they trying to solve?
3) Fear and self-doubt. Specifically, MY fear and self-doubt. I'm afraid of something difficult in this scene or book. Afraid I suck. Afraid people will hate it. Doubting my ability to pull it off.
This is why I firmly believe in Anne Lamott's sh*tty first draft theory. (If you haven't read Bird by Bird, oh, you should.) The theory goes like this: It's okay to make a mess and write a horrible scene. You can always fix it later. Have fun with making a mess! You never know what will come out of it. :)
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