Too stupid to write

I'm right there with you, so I've got my ear to the ground as well. I hope we both pull out of this.

Tri

That kind of moment is the reason my first step in starting any book is to write down the idea/thought/falsh/inspiration that geeked me so much about committing to this story in the first place. Whatever that it, I make many copies and plaster it everywhere that I'm likely to write--monitors, notebooks, back of my hand, whatever.

And when I hit the points where the words don't come, that things just aren't working and I'm ready to walk away from the whole business, there it is. That thing that made me love this book so much. Reading it over (as many times as needed) normally brings rekindles the fires of my imagination and gets me excited and energetic again. That generally is all that it takes for me to get over whatever mid-book hump I'm experiencing in short order.

Good luck in finding something that works for you.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Just write. Don't judge it. Get from the beginning to the end. If you can do that, you're ahead.

Nakhlasmoke said:

So, what do you do when it hits? Are there any words of wisdom you tell yourself that gives you the strength to keep plugging on?

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Everyday I say I'm not going to goof off in here...but every morning I log in AW before checking my e-mail. Seeing posts like this helps because later when I start to read my WIP & mentally bash myself - I have the courage to go on. When I hit a wall - you'll usually find me in writers prompts & games for a pick me up. Sappy - but AW is what gives me strength. Good luck!

Everyday I say I'm not going to goof off in here...but every morning I log in AW before checking my e-mail.

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I say the same thing every morning, too, and do the *exact* same thing as you. It's an addiction, I suppose. I've been playing with The Write-Brain Workbook to get me back into the swing of things. It's very different from the kind of writing I typically do, so it's been helping me shake back into what I'm used to writing. If that makes any sense at all . . . ?

*too stupid to understand what "hob an lam" means*

Whew! Here I thought it was some new writing term I didn't know!

Anyway, best advice, and its probably been said already, keep writing. Plow right through. Smash down that wall. Write anything that comes to mind.

Make the character hungry and send him to a restaurant where something happens. Or have someone call him on his cell phone. Just write anything. You might write a few hundred or even a few thousands words and then suddenly the real direction you want to go will come to you and off you go!

Sometimes even just rereading what you have might inspire something.

Up until a month ago I used to say, "Just write." And I did that for almost eight years. But then something happened that stopped me dead in my tracks. I couldn't even write a simple email. It was as if my brain went on freeze-frame. Nothing helped, not even reading books on writing (which I'd start and put down after the first few sentences). I did continue to read novels and newspapers, and of course, read posts here at AW.

The other night, though, I had a very clear dream. It involved a story for a novel I had started a few years ago and put aside. I dreamt how it could go, how the characters would be, the scenery, everything. And when I woke up, I remembered most of it and liked it. Of course it will need tweaking here and there, but it got me motivated. Since then I've worked on an essay and submitted it, and a poem (that desperately needs more work), and am in the process of working on that novel I dreamt about.

Do what you have to do. If it means writing drivel for now, do it. If it means taking a small sabatical, do that. Or even write something completely different from what you normally write.

Like others have said, sometimes you just have to force yourself to write drivel. Remember, there is some best-selling drivel out there, so who knows?

Also, doing anything as a full-time job can be too much. Sometimes your mind is just saying "give me two weeks of vacation" and you'd better do it. Write down a date on your calendar when you are going to start writing again (so this doesn't turn into a long-term procrastination stint but has a definite end) and then just relax.

I, too, am a member of the Too Stupid Club. Too stupid, too lazy, too uninspired, too incompetent. A Dumb Old Broad who chose writing as a midlife crisis instead of something sane like an affair or a sportscar or plastic surgery.

Yet, somehow I have this WIP that's getting longer every week and yes, a lot of it is dreck, but there's some darned good writing in there, too. I can see it if I take off my grey-tinted glasses for a moment.

You know, the word too had me stumped for second there. I was actually wondering if I had misspelled the word too.

Ack. Ack.

Back to our regular programming.

Nakhlasmoke said:

sorry, working title.

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Totally, or at least mostly, off-topic: so, what DOES it mean? In conjunction with your book and all?

Or can't you tell us?

I'm kind of in that rut, too. I'm not sure what to write, and when I have an idea and begin to write, I know the quality is pretty much on the shitty side. The only thing I can suggest is when I'm not sure what to write, I rewrite the entire outline and try to plug in what's missing. And if you're problem is just purely not being able to write at your best, then maybe take a quick walk and get your blood flowing.