STARTING A NOVEL: How to Overcome Writers Block

 

You know the feeling. You've carved out a chunk of your time, scheduled it for days, even weeks "This is the day I'm going to write" and you sit down at the desk, open your computer, type in a heading and rest your fingertips on the keyboard. All the ideas you've been pondering just fly out of the window and any attempt at the first sentence sounds like trash. Nothing hits right and by the third hour of staring, you give up. 

 

This, my friends, is writers block. As always, welcome to my blog! If you're a follower, welcome back. If you're new, welcome to the Homestead. Take some cheese, get a drink, take off your shoes and stay awhile while we dive into my advice for how to overcome writers' block and finally start your novel. 

 

Your novel, when it's first starting, is like a color. For you painters in the audience, the page is your canvas, and your words is the paint brush. The paint itself is your creativity. When you squeeze the paint out of the tube and look at it on the palate, it doesn't mean anything, it's just a color, just a concept. The wonder comes as you add more paint, more colors, more ideas onto that canvas, but it's hard sometimes to get that initial idea on the page. So, what do you do? How do you get so motivated that writing isn't just a hobby, it's a lifeline, it's an addiction? 

 

You think. 

 

Imagine you're a middle schooler again and there's this cute boy or girl you like. They occupy all your thoughts, but of course you don't like them :3 (hehehhehee) and you tell yourself to stop thinking about them. Well, you can't. The more you think and dwell on their best qualities, the more obsessed you get. The same is true for WRITING. The more you think and dwell on your book, the more you fall in love with it and that's the secret that most writers miss. They don't spend the time to fall in love with their project. Some projects are harder to fall in love with than others, but it's essential to keep turning over ideas in your head, imagine scenes, create character designs, do everything you can to immerse yourself in the world you want to create. It also helps with ideas. When you're looking for inspiration and thinking "I wonder how [insert character] would [insert activity]" then you're becoming the character. Example, for the book I'm writing, He Needs A Father, I was sitting by the pool and I was thinking "I wonder if William knows how to swim, or just sinks." then I laughed for the next few minutes because the mental image of William just sinking straight down to the bottom made me happy. When you do this, the story becomes so real that it is real. And if it's real to you, it'll feel real to your readers. 

 

So instead of scheduling time in your busy schedule to write, instead take time to think. Just sit in a quiet place and think. Take time to fall in love with your novel and then writing won't feel like a chore. The emotions and words will leap off the page and writing will feel effortless.  

 

That's all for today, folks. Don't forget your coats, your purses! Thanks for stopping by and until the next time, Stay Tuned!!