Freelance Writer and Social Worker

Getting Stuck on Your Writing Projects? Try Taking a Break!

Have you come across a problem with plotting or writing one of your articles that you just can't seem to resolve? Are you determined to power through it, no matter what? That may not be such a good idea.

Instead, it's a better idea to take a break. Here's why:

1. Your brain can be overtaxed, just like a muscle. When you lift weights at the gym, what do you do when your muscles start to get tired? Do you pile on more weights and force yourself to keep going, or do you take a break, switch to a different type of exercise, and allow the tired muscles a chance to rest and rejuvenate? Your brain is a little like those tired muscles. The more you try to force it beyond its capacity, the weaker it will become and the less effective you'll be as a writer. Give your mind a little R & R when you first start to feel fatigued, and you'll soon be able to return to your project with new enthusiasm and ideas.

2. Shifting perspective is a great way to come up with answers. I love to work jigsaw puzzles. Sometimes, though, I get disgusted when I can't figure out where a particular piece fits. I've learned long ago that the harder I look, the less success I'll have. My best bet is to walk away, focus my attention on something else like reading a book or working a logic puzzle, and return to the jigsaw in about thirty minutes. Nine times out of ten, I immediately find a place for the troublesome piece. The same is true with writing. If I give myself permission to walk away and work on something else when I get stuck, I almost always come back to the troublesome project with a new batch of workable solutions.

My Favorite Freelance Writing Posts

Isn't it a shame that when you write a blog some of your best posts slip away into obscurity. (Then, of course, there are the posts that truly should slip away into obscurity, but that's a different story.)

Anyway, this week I was feeling a little nostalgic, and maybe a little lazy as well, and decided to rerun some of my favorite posts from the last year or so. If you missed the originals, I hope you'll find something amusing or something informative in these selections.

1. 25 Strategies for Smashing Through Writer's Block. No, I'm not going to take the time to argue about whether there is any such thing as writer's block. Whatever we want to call it, most of us have had times when we're simply stuck, and these tips can help.

2. Freelance Writers: 7 Tips for Caring for Your Hands, Wrists, and Arms. We may not be professional athletes, but we still rely on our bodies to make a living. If you aren't already, start treating those hands with kid gloves.

3. Dear Debra - A Letter to My Sixteen Year Old Self. My personal favorite blog posts. I just wish someone really had been around when I was 16 to give me that advice!

25 Strategies for Smashing Through Writer's Block

Even those writers who swear they never have any kind of writer's block (and don't you just hate them?) have probably had some days when writing was easier than others. They just gave those hard days another name.

Whether you want to attribute the more difficult days to writing block, a runaway muse, not feeling well, or even dealing with the agony of an assignment you hate, there are a few quick fixes for powering through this tough time and getting back on track. Here are some of my favorite methods.

1. Skip the part that's giving you trouble. If you have no idea how your characters are going to stumble across a fresh body in Chapter 1, don't worry about that and head on to Chapter 2 where they're being interviewed by the police.

2. Play Sudoku or work a jigsaw puzzle. Or if you like, you can play a computer game. The idea is to engage another part of your mind which may have some ideas to contribute to your writing.

3. Vacuum. Repetitive motion. Soothing sound. House looks good when you're finished. Yea.

4. Wash dishes. Again, a simple, ritualistic task that takes you mind off your story and actually improves your living space.

5. Take a walk. Many people think best on their feet.

6. Pay bills. Sometimes a low account balance can scare you into getting back to work.

Three Outrageous Ideas to Jump-Start Stalled Fiction

As most of you know, I've been participating in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this November. Even though I started out from what I thought was a comprehensive outline, my characters soon took on a life of their own and simply refused to do what I wanted them to.

I began writing myself into corners and getting stuck on major plot points. Luckily, one of the first rules of NaNo is that the inner editor goes into a kennel for a month. That means you're free to change-up main characters, switch from first-person to third-person narration, or even skip a scene that isn't working and move on to something else.

It also means that you can let your imagination roam free as it tries to find ways to get your plot going again. If you're novel is way off course, and the strong characters who talked you into abandoning your outline in the first place have fallen stubbornly silent, it's time to take drastic action. The suggestions below probably won't make it into your final draft, but they will get your creative juices flowing again and force docile characters to do something besides sit and ruminate.

Do You Believe in Writer's Block?

Do you believe in writer's block? I couldn't throw a much more inflammatory question at a group of writers if I tried! Some writers are firmly convinced that they have been and are afflicted with writer's block on a regular basis. Other writers suggest that the blocked writers are nothing but a bunch of malingerers.

And where do I stand on this polarizing question?

Somewhere in the middle. I've experienced times myself when I had difficulty writing. Back then, I would have called myself "blocked." Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, however, I realize that the block was always the symptom, not the disease.

I'd Write if I Had the Time

The woman behind the counter smiled at me as I handed over a copy of Hospice Tails for donation to the library. Then, something in her look changed as if she were thinking about a dreamy, magical place far away.

I could sense what was coming next. Don't go there, I begged her telepathically, but "there" is exactly where she went.

"I'm so envious of people who have the time to write," she said with a sigh. "I'd love to be a writer."

I offered her a nod and a slightly pained smile and made my escape. But ever since that encounter, I've thought about the response I would have liked to have given.

Writing Through Depression

Some mental health professionals refer to depression as the "common cold" of mental illnesses, not because it is not serious--30% who carry the diagnosis of depression will attempt suicide and about half that number will succeed--but because if affects so many people. In any given year, some 10% of Americans, or 24 million people, suffer from depression.

I carry a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Although it is fairly well controlled with medication, I know this means that there will be times when writing seems like the easiest thing in the world. The words flow, editors are thrilled with what I produce, and I can work around the clock without feeling the pain. I also know, however, that there will be other times, times when I can't motivate myself to do anything but stare at the keyboard, times when one task feels overwhelming and two feels impossible. In other words, times when I am clinically depressed.

Unfortunately, my financial obligations do not follow my bipolar schedule. The rent comes due on the first of the month whether I'm manic, depressed, or a happy medium. The companies who supply my utilities still expect to be paid, as do my creditors. And my editors just want the copy when I promised them they would have it.

In order to stay solvent, I've had to learn several tricks for writing through my depressive episodes. I'm sharing them here in the hopes that if they work for me, they might work for other depressed writers as well.

Stick to Your Schedule

If you usually sit down every night at 8:00 PM to write, you should be at your keyboard on the nights you are depressed, too. You may feel so bad that you won't get anything written, but you certainly won't get anything written if you don't bother to show up.

Crop Your To-Do List

This is not the time for an overwhelming three-page list of everything you ever wanted to accomplish as a writer. Think about what is due tonight. Think about what is due tomorrow. Make those items your priority. The rest can wait.

Force Yourself to Write the First Word

Make yourself put your fingers on the keyboard and start typing, even if you "know" what you're typing is sheer, unadulterated crap. Crap can be edited, but there's not a whole lot you can do with a blank page.

Don't Destroy Anything You've Written

During an episode of depression, I once shredded the entire first half of a novel I was working on. I also destroyed the back-up copy. When I came out of my depression a few weeks later and realized that the novel was actually pretty good, it was too late to save it.  

Edit Triumphantly

Don't be discouraged if you have to edit a lot of what you wrote when you were in the doldrums. At least you wrote it in the first place, and I've always thought editing was a hundred times easier than facing a screen with nothing on it.

Reward Yourself After a Writing Session

One of the hallmarks of depression is a lack of interest in activities you usually enjoy, so your reward may just be collapsing into bed and watching a South Park marathon. If that's what feels good to you in the moment, it's the perfect reward. Enjoy. You've earned it.

Seek Treatment

If your symptoms last for more than two weeks, or if you are having thoughts of suicide, see a mental health professional: a social worker, a counselor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist. There are many interventions that can shorten and lessen the intensity of a depressive episode. The faster you get help, the faster you'll feel better, and the faster you can return to being the fantastic writer you know you are.   

The Mysterious Muse - And Why She's Not as Important as She Thinks She Is

Have you ever stopped to imagine what your muse looks like? I have. She's more beautiful than I could ever dream of being, a couple of inches taller than I am, slender but curvy in all the right places. She has long blonde hair that she wears unstyled so that it hangs loose and tangles around her face and shoulders.

Her eyes can be either child-like with wonder or wise with the heaviness of cynicism, and they change color depending on her moods. When she has a story to spin, her eyes become a dark, stormy blue and her usually thin voice could be heard over the roaring of the seas and the shifting of mountains. When she smiles or teases--as she does often--her eyes become a light, guileless violet.

My muse's sharp little teeth are straight and white. She's been known to nip on occasion. She usually goes barefoot in long, flowing skirts and peasant blouses.

What to Do When You're Not in the Mood

Have you ever sat in front of your keyboard and realized you were not even vaguely inspired to type any words onto the screen in front of you.

Have you ever felt like you muse is telling you, "Not tonight, dear. I have a headache"?

What do you do when the writing bug just won't bite?

There are a few things you can try to get the words flowing again.

The Motivation to Write

It was a gorgeous Sunday morning, one of the few really spring-like days we'd had during April. I'd spent the last two weeks bundling up against gray, cold skies and dodging rain drops. Now there was so much I wanted to do...walk to the library across the street and find a great book. Go over to the pond and feed the ducks. Shop for new spring clothes. Even do spring cleaning with all the windows open and the warm breeze carrying the scent of cleaner away. Any or all of those ideas would have been appealing.

Instead, I plodded over to my computer, powered it up, and started working on two writing projects that were coming due.

Why did I do that? What motivated me? To answer that question, it helps to know that there are two basic types of motivation: external and internal.